Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Stardust
by AuraFighter23
Summary: What would you do if one day you woke up without any memories. And on top of that, you're a Pokémon! Join a young human turned Riolu as he struggles to deal with his new life as a Pokémon and attempts to discover why he was brought to this world. Will he succeed, or will he be consumed by darkness. I do not own Pokémon or any song, book, show, movie, etc. that I reference.
1. Chapter 1

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 1: Rebirth**

Darkness. That was all the human saw when he opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" said the human. "How did I get here?"

Then all of a sudden a bright light engulfed the human. The human winced at the sudden bright light. When his eyes finally adjusted he realized that he was floating in an empty space. He looked around, but in every direction there was nothing but more empty space.

"I guess this is just a dream," said the human.

"... This is no dream human," said a disembodied voice.

The human turned around, frantically looking for whoever spoke, but he saw no one.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

There was silence until the same disembodied voice said, "Be calm, I mean you no harm."

The voice, oddly, soothed the human and made him relax a little.

"Who are you?" said the human.

"Who I am is not important right now," said the voice. "But like I said I mean you no harm. What is your name human?"

"... My name is DJ," said the human, now identified as DJ. "Where exactly are we?"

"That is a difficult question to answer," said the voice. "We are not anywhere, however we are not nowhere."

"That's a little cryptic, don't you think?"

The voice chuckled then said, "Yes I suppose you are right. Now, let's get down to business. I am going to ask you several questions, and I want you to answer them as truthfully as possible. OK?"

"OK."

"Good, now first question: Have you ever said something without thinking of the consequences?"

"... Yes..."

"There is no reason to be embarrassed we're the only ones here. Now second question: How are you with meeting new people?"

"Well I'm not very good at meeting new people. Honestly I'm a little shy when I am around people I don't know."

"OK. Third question: You see one of your friends getting bullied, what do you do?"

"I would defend my friend and tell the bullies to back off!"

"What would you do if you did not know the person?"

"I would still help. No one deserves to be bullied, I should know. I was bullied when I was little and no one tried to help me. So I refuse to stand by while someone is being bullied!"

"Interesting. Next question: Do you have a temper?"

"... Well, I do, but it takes a lot for me to snap."

"OK then, fifth question-"

"Why are you asking these questions?" DJ interrupted.

"All will be revealed soon. Now fifth question: Say that you are supposed to meet someone and they are late. How do you react?"

"I become annoyed, but I would still wait."

"Sixth question: You are doing homework when someone tells you that you are doing it wrong. How do you react?"

"Honesty, I would ignore the person and continue with my work."

"I see. Now my final question: Are you a boy or a girl?"

"... Really?" said DJ in an annoyed tone."

"Just making sure," said the voice in an amused tone. "Now I shall describe your character. You seem to benevolent individual. You clearly care for others, even if you are shy around new people. You also have a strong since of justice. That is not to say that you don't have your faults. You are clearly impatient and, as you said before, tend to act without thinking. You should really learn to thin before you act."

The voice paused as the human looked down ashamed.

"There is no reason to beat yourself up over it though, everyone has faults, you just need to learn how to overcome those faults. Speaking of which. You are also a little stubborn. You don't like taking advice and you constantly want to do things your way. Your friends probably find that part of you infuriating."

"Hey!" shouted DJ indigently

"I did not mean to offend," stated the voice calmly. "Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing. It means that you do not back down from your beliefs and your ideals are not easily swayed. Anyway as I said you are a good person with a kind heart that is why I chose you."

"Chose me for what?" asked DJ curiously.

"Chose you to-" started the voice but was cut of by an inhuman roar. Suddenly DJ clutched his head in pain at the sound. He felt like someone screaming in his ear.

"What's happening?!" screamed DJ as he tried, unsuccessfully, to block out the sound.

"No!" cried the voice. "This shouldn't be happening. DJ you must remember you are meant to..." The rest of the voices response was cut off as the roaring intensified. DJ screamed in pain one last time as he felt himself falling before everything thing went black.

"Where is it?" said an irritated feminine voice. "Whatever that thing the fell from the sky landed somewhere in this cave."

Said cave was dark with a few beams of light shining through a few holes in the ceiling. There were also clear crystals all over the cave that reflected the light from the holes in the ceiling. It also had two entrance, one of which the speaker entered from and one on the other side that lead deeper into the cave. The speaker stepped into one of the beams of light, and it was clear that the speaker was not human. The creature looked like an overly large frog with light blue skin. It's big eyes were yellow with black irises and white pupils. It had a dark blue stripe running from between its eyes to its back. It also had what seemed like white frothy bubbles around its neck. It was a Froakie.

'OK,' thought the female Froakie looking around. 'Whatever fell from the sky should have landed somewhere around here.'

The little Froakie looked around and sighed seeing nothing at first glance. Her eyes widened when she heard a sound. She turned towards the sound and saw a small crater off to her right side, near the far wall. She quickly ran to the edge of the crater and gasped at what she saw. In the center of the crater, face down, laid a small dog like creature. It was almost completely covered in blue fur, minus it's legs, which had black fur. It had an overly large blue tail, that looked like it would make the dog creature top-heavy. It also had black fur on its chest that made it look like it was wearing a black vest. It had two ears on the to of it's head and it also had two black appendages on either side of it's head. On further inspection it had what looked like a gold collar around its neck. The young Froakie recognized the creature from the books that she had read. It was called a Riolu. Cautiously, she approached the downed Riolu checking to see if it was OK. She jumped back when she heard a groan come from the downed Pokemon, recognizing it as the sound that she had heard earlier.

'Oh my Arceus!' thought the Froakie. 'It's alive!'

She quickly ran over to the Riolu and flipped it onto it's back. She noted that the fur around its eyes was black, resembling a mask. She also noted that it had what appeared to be bones protruding from it's paws.

"Hey can you hear me!" the Froakie shouted.

All she got in response was another groan. She shouted again and this time the Riolu shifted and slowly opened it's eyes. The Froakie backed up giving the Riolu space to gain it's bearings, and encase it proved hostile. It groaned again and rubbed it eyes and looked around.

"Where am I?" asked the Riolu, in a clearly male voice.

"Your in Crystal Cave," said the Froakie. "I found you here passed out. My name is Katara. What"s yours?"

The Riolu looked at her and just stared at her. As the Riolu continued to stare Katara began to feel uneasy.

"What are you looking at?" asked Katara nervously. "Is there something on my face?"

At that moment the Riolu's eyes widened and it screamed. Katara was startled by the Riolu's sudden outburst and jumped back. The Riolu scrambled to its feat and backed up looking at her in horror before it finally spoke.

"You can talk?" the clearly male Riolu asked fearfully.

Katara felt a little annoyed by this question.

"Of course I can talk," Katara said angrily. "I'm not some wild Pokemon. I'm civilized."

"B-B-But Pokemon can't talk!" exclaimed the startled Riolu. "Pokemon aren't even real!"

"I can assure you I am very real," said the annoyed Froakie. "Besides you're a Pokemon, and you're talking."

"What are you talking about? I'm not a Pokemon I'm a human!"

"Really?" Katara asked skeptically. "You look like a regular Riolu to me."

At this the Riolu looked at its paws, then its feet, and finally turned partially around and saw its overly large tail swishing back and forth. A moment passed, then another, then another, until the little Riolu screamed again.

"OH MY GOD!" screamed the Riolu. "IT"S TRUE! I AM A POKEMON!"

Katara sweat-dropped at the panicking Riolu wondering if he was crazy. Finally the Riolu seemed to calm down.

"That's OK," said the Riolu in an eerily calm voice. He then walked over to the side of the cave. He then said, "This is just a dream. I just gotta wake myself up." He then presided to bash his head against the cave wall.

Katara was shocked at the Riolu's actions and was beginning to believe that this Riolu was actually crazy. She then sweat-dropped as the Riolu howled in pain clutching his head.

"OWW!" cried the Riolu. "That hurt!"

"What did you expect it to tickle?" Katara asked sarcastically. "Sheesh you're weird. Are all Riolu as crazy as you?"

"I told you I'm a human!" yelled the Riolu.

"Then why do you look like a Riolu?"

"... I don't know." said the Riolu quietly.

"Anyway, if you are human then where are you from?

The Riolu then scrunched up his face as if he smelled something foul. His eyes soon widened as he clutched his head exclaiming, "Oh my God. I can't remember!"

"Really you can't remember anything?"

"No. I just keep drawing a blank!"

"Alright, alright just calm down," said Katara calmly, not wanting the Riolu to freak out again. When she saw the Riolu visibly calm down she said, "Good now just try to remember something simple, like you're name."

The Riolu scrunched up his face again before saying, "I can remember my name, but everything else is gone. It's like when I try to remember all I get is static!"

"OK, well that''s a start," Katara said calmly. "What _is_ your name anyway."

"I think it's DJ," said the now named Riolu.

"Really? You're name is only _two _letter? That's just weird."

"Hey my name is awesome!" stated DJ angrily. "Besides what kind name is Katara anyway."

"Hey! My name is better compared to yours!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

The two glared at each other until Katara noticed something off about DJ's eyes.

"What's with your eyes?" asked Katara curiously. "They look different then a normal Riolu's."

"Huh?" DJ said confusedly.

Pointed to one of the crystals and said, "Go see for yourself."

DJ cautiously approached the crystal. He gazed into the crystal and saw his reflection. He grimaced as he saw the face of a Riolu. He ignored that for the time being and focused on his eyes and gasped. In the reflection he saw that his eyes were a pale greyish blue instead of blood red like a normal Riolu's.

"That's weird," said DJ. "I thought Riolu eyes were supposed to be red."

"They are," stated Katara as she walked up behind DJ. "There must have been a mutation that occurred while you were in your egg."

DJ looked at her with an annoyed expression and said, "I didn't come from an egg remember? I'm a human."

"Of course you are," said Katara sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"DJ was about to retort when a loud roar echoed through the cave from the tunnel across from them. The roar was then presided by the sound of stomping that sounded as if it was getting closer.

"What the hell is that?!" cried DJ.

"Damn," said Katara fearfully. "We were to loud. "We attracted a wild Pokemon."

"Wild Pokemon?" asked DJ.

"Yeah. Unlike me, a sentient Pokemon, wild Pokemon are more primal and bloodthirsty. They are also extremely territorial and will attack anyone who enters there territory."

The stomping grew louder and louder until a big dragon like creature entered. This dragon had mainly blue scales except for its head, which was covered in red scales, and its underbelly, which was covered in beige scales. It had what appeared to be wings on its back as well as a long blue tail, that was covered in red spike. It also had the same red spikes on its arms. It glared at them with its piercing amber eyes and roared at them.

"That's a-a-a Druddigon!" shouted DJ.

"Run!" yelled Katara.

The two turned towards the exist, but before they could run towards the cave's exit the Druddigon charged at them and they were forced to jump to the side. The Druddigon now blocked their only exit.

"What do we do now?" DJ asked fearfully.

"We have no choice but to fight." said Katara, but from the sound of her voice, it was clear that she was scared as well.

"What?!" cried DJ. "But I don't know how to fight like a Pokemon!"

"All Pokemon are born with the knowledge to fight."

"What part of I'm not a Pokemon do you not understand?!"

Katara ignored DJ and brought her hands together. DJ watched in awe as a sphere of water formed in between her hands (Water Pulse). She then launched the sphere at the Druddigon. The attack hit the large dragon and pushed it back slightly, however it only seemed to infuriate the Druddigon even more.

"Shit!" cursed Katara. "I forgot that dragon types are resistant to water attacks!" She then turned to DJ and said, "Quick use a fighting type move on it!"

DJ looked at her in an annoyed fashion before saying, "Do you ever listen?! I don't know how!"

Before either of them could say anything else, the Druddigon charged them, it's claws glowing green (Dragon Claw). The two jumped in separate directions as the Druddigon's dragon claw hit where they were standing. Katara cursed and launched another water pulse at the Druddigon, but like before, it had almost no affect. The Druddigon growled and formed a light green orb in it's claws (Dragon Pulse) and launched it at Katara. Katara quickly jumped over the orb, which hit the ground and exploded, and launched bubbles from her mouth at the Druddigon (Bubble). The bubbles popped on the Druddigon's spikes and did no visible damage. The Druddigon then formed another dragon pulse at Katara as she was falling, and this time she could not dodge. As the orb hit her it exploded sending her flying into the opposite wall. DJ quickly ran to her side to see if she was OK. He was relieved when she got back to her feet, though slightly wincing. But before he could reach her the Druddigon charged him, it's tail glowing green (Dragon Tail). It then swung it's tail and nailed DJ's side, sending him flying to the wall. He slammed into the wall so hard that he left a Riolu shaped indent in the wall. He groaned as he managed to get back to his feet, surprised that he was not that injured.

'I guess, as a Pokemon, I'm a lot stronger now,' thought DJ. 'A lot of good that does me, considering I have no idea how to fight.'

As DJ was having this discussion with himself he completely forgot about the wild Druddigon until it was right in front of him ready to claw him to pieces with another dragon claw. As the Druddigon brought it's claw down something light blue pushed DJ out of the way and took the attack. DJ turned as he heard a pain filled cry. His eyes widened as He saw the Katara had pushed him out of the way, taking the attack in his place. Katara then launched a water pulse at the Druddigon, surprising it, causing it to stumble backwards. She then took some of the bubbles that were around her neck and threw them at the Druddigon's feet. What ever the bubbles were they appeared to be adhesive, because the Druddigon began to struggle, trying to free itself. Seeing that the Druddigon was occupied, DJ quickly rushed over to Katara, who had three big claw marks running down her side and down across her stomach. Each mark was bleeding profusely.

"Why?" DJ asked. "Why did you save me?"

"Because it's my job," replied Katara. "I'm part of Gallade's Guild and a member of Team Stardust. And we help Pokemon in need no matter what. Now come on. We have to get out of here."

No sooner had she said this the Druddigon freed itself and charged the duo. Katara then expelled a thick black smog from her mouth almost completely filling the cave (Smokescreen).

"Run!" yelled Katara. "While it can't see!"

DJ hesitated for a moment then, blindly, ran towards where the exit as the smoke began to dispel. He could now see the exit, and almost made it before he stopped dead as he heard a surprised scream. He turned quickly and saw that the Druddigon managed to hit Katara sending her to the center of the cave. The Druddigon began to slowly advance on the injured Pokemon, with a feral grin on it's face. DJ was frozen. He was mere feet away from the exit, but he couldn't move.

'She risked her life to save me," he thought. 'I can't leave her. No. I refuse to leave her to the mercy of that beast!'

DJ then felt new energy coursed through his body. He then began to run towards the Druddigon, at insane speeds (Quick Attack).

'I've never moved this fast before,' mused DJ. 'This must be quick attack!'

He smirked as he closed the distance between him and the wild Pokemon. Right as the Druddigon was about to attack Katara, DJ slammed his shoulder into it's side causing it to stumble away. DJ's victory was short lived as the shoulder he used to hit the Druddigon burst in pain.

"What the fuck?!" cried DJ, clutching his shoulder.

"That's Druddigon's rough-skin ability," Katara said weakly. "Why the hell didn't you leave when you had the chance?"

"Because," said DJ. "I don't turn my back on those in need."

"Idiot," said Katara as she slipped into unconsciousness, due to her injuries.

"I've been called worse," said DJ. "I think..."

The Druddigon regained it's balance and charged DJ, roaring.

"I may not be able to fight like a Pokemon," stated DJ. "But I can still fight like a human!"

As he said this, DJ charged the Druddigon, determined to keep it away from Katara. The Druddigon swiped at DJ with a dragon claw, but DJ ducked under it, and presided to kick the Druddigon in the leg with all of his strength. The attack itself seemed to injure to injure the Pokemon a little, but not enough to make it back off. Ignoring the pain in his leg, do to Druddigon's rough-skin ability, DJ continued fighting.

DJ had been fighting for what seemed like hours. He would dodge an attack then counter with a kick or a punch, but he was beginning to tire. He was already cut up in various places, due to Druddigon's ability, and he was slowly losing strength. The opposing Pokemon was far better of, but DJ could tell that it was weakening. Then the Druddigon got a lucky hit with it's dragon tail, which slammed into DJ's gut knocking the wind out of him, and sending him flying next to the still unconscious Katara. DJ groaned as he slowly got to his feet.

'This is hopeless,' thought DJ as he watched the Druddigon slowly approach. 'I've got almost no energy left and that thing just keeps coming. At this rate both of us will be dead.'

DJ then looked down at Katara's prone form. This sight filled DJ with new strength and determination.

'No,' thought DJ. 'I can't give up. She risked her life to save me and I refuse to let her down!'

DJ then turned to the still approaching Pokemon and glared. He felt energy flowing throughout his entire body. On instinct, as if a little voice in his head said so, DJ put his paws together. All of the energy seemed to move to his paws and increase. The a blue orb of pure energy formed between his paws. With his remaining energy he gave a primal cry, and launched the orb at the Druddigon. When said orb hit the dragon Pokemon it exploded and sent the Druddigon into the opposite wall. It hit the wall with so much force that part of the wall collapsed and buried the now unconscious Druddigon.

'I did it,' thought DJ, slowly losing consciousness. He then turned to the unconscious Katara and said, "I told you I would protect you."

He then slumped to the floor, and the last thing he saw before blacking out was a tall human-like silhouette approaching him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 2: Awakening**

There is a town, not to far from Crystal Cave, called Miracle Town. The morning sun shone upon this town is full of houses, restaurants, stores, and many other types of buildings. Pokemon walked to and from these buildings, talking and laughing without a care in the world.

Located in the center of Miracle Town there stands a structure, that looks similar to the head of a Gallade. In this building there is a small white room. This room would be completely bare if it was not for the blue mat, that looked to be covered in footprints, a bed, a small window located across from the bed, and two wooden doors, the one by the window that led to a hallway and the other, that was by the bed, led to a small bathroom. The room was currently empty, save for one little Riolu that used to be a human named DJ.

"... Ugh," stated DJ. "My head is killing me."

Slowly DJ opened his eyes, wincing at the light that was pouring in. He quickly raised, what he thought to be, a hand in front of his eyes, to shield them, but as soon as he raised his _hand _he gasped. Instead of a hand he had a blue paw. He began to panic until he remembered what happened.

He frowned. "I guess that wasn't a dream," he said miserably. "I really am a Pokemon." He then began to look around the room before saying, "I wonder where I am. And where's that Froakie?"

He attempted to get out of the bed, but he felt something holding him down. He through off the covers and saw that there was a leather strap binding him to the bed. He immediately began to panic again, trying frantically to remove the strap until the door next to the window opened.

He froze watching the door open not knowing what to expect. As the door opened a Froakie with a bandage wrapped around their torso, walked in followed by another Pokemon wearing a nurse hat. Said Pokemon was about three times the size of the Froakie and twice as wide, with startling blue eyes. It was primarily pink, except for it's torso, hands, and face, which were cream colored. Something that drew DJ's attention were the big ears that it had, that curled up at the base of it's ears. DJ recognized it as an Audino. The three Pokemon stared at each other in surprise until the Froakie spoke up.

"So you're finally awake, huh?"

DJ immediately recognized the voice and said, "Katara?"

"The one and only," said Froakie.

Katara walked over to DJ and looked at him for a second before hitting him on his head.

"OW!" DJ cried angrily holding his head in pain. "What was that for?!"

"That's for not listening when I told you to run!" yelled Katara, equally angry.

"So you wanted me to just leave you there to fight that thing alone?!"

"I could have handled it!" Katara said indigently.

"No you couldn't have! You were almost unconscious by the time I got to you!"

Before Katara could say anything else, the Audino smacked the backside of Katara's head. Katara turned around, about to yell, and paled. The Audino had it's eyes closed and was smiling kindly, but the smile seemed to lower the temperature of the room, making DJ shiver.

"I do believe I said not to excite him," said the clearly female Audino, who's voice was light and kind, but it had a hint of anger in it (Just imagine Retsu Unohana's personality from Bleach). "I must kindly ask you to calm down or leave."

"Y-y-yes Nurse Audrey!" said Katara, who was sweating bullets.

"Good," said Audrey, the coldness instantly disappearing. Nurse Audrey then turned to DJ, began to panic again, due to the Audino's sudden mood shift. "Hello there what is your name?" asked the Nurse in a kind tone.

"It's D-D-DJ," stuttered the still fearful DJ.

"There is no need to be afraid," said Audrey. "My name is Nurse Audrey. You are at Gallade's Guild. Master Gallade brought you Katara in two days ago. Your injuries were not as severe as Katara's, but you were suffering from EDS."

"EDS?" asked DJ.

"Energy depletion syndrome. It occurs when Pokemon uses too much of there energy. It puts the Pokemon in a comatose like state until they are able to recover their energy. Honestly, I am surprised that you recovered so quickly. Most Pokemon take at least a week to recover, even fighting types take at least four days."

"Ookay?" said DJ uncertainly, not knowing how to respond.

"Your other injuries," continued Audrey. "consisted of a few cuts and bruises. I had to strap you down because you kept moving in your sleep and I did not want you to reopen any of your cuts. Though I must say you are very lucky. Not many Pokemon can stand up to a Druddigon."

DJ just nodded, again not knowing how to respond. As Audrey stepped closer to the bed to undo the straps holding him to the bed he then turned to Katara.

"Are you okay?" DJ asked Katara with concern.

Katara didn't respond at first because she was surprised that he was asking about her. 'He's worried about me?' thought Katara. 'He was out cold for two days and he's concerned about me?' She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and said, "I'm fine. Just a scratch, nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" asked Audrey, who suddenly got a stern look on her face. "That dragon claw tore through your first few layers of skin. Any deeper and it might have torn your muscles. You should have been more careful, if Gallade hadn't gotten there in time you could have bleed to death."

DJ looked down guiltily, knowing that Katara only got hurt because of him. He was broken from his depression when a voice came from the door.

"So you're awake," said the voice.

The three Pokemon turned towards the door to see a human-like Pokemon standing there. The Pokemon walked into the room and stopped next to the bed. The Pokemon had long white legs and wide hips. It's was completely green with a strange red horns sticking out of it's chest and back. It's arms were long and shaped almost like tonfas (a weapon used in martial arts). It's head resembled a gladiator with a white face and a teal fin on the top of it's head. It's eyes, which were red, were stern, but also there was a kindness in them. It was a Gallade, and a very powerful one judging by the way it carried itself.

"Hello DJ my name is Master Gallade," said the Gallade in a kind voice. "I'm the one that got you and Katara out of Crystal Cave.

"Thank you sir," said DJ. "Thank you for beating that Druddigon. It probably would have killed us if you hadn't showed up."

"You are quite welcome," said Gallade. "Though I didn't beat the Druddigon."

"Huh?" said DJ, Katara, and Audrey. Then DJ said, "Then who did?"

"I believe that you did," said Gallade. Upon seeing the surprised looks on everyone's face he continued. "When I arrived I saw the Druddigon go flying into the wall. When I looked around the only one I saw was you and Katara. Seeing how Katara was unconscious at the time I have reason to believe that you defeated the Druddigon."

Katara and Audrey looked at DJ with a mixture of awe and surprise. DJ, however, was deep in thought.

'I beat the Druddigon?' thought DJ. 'That's weird I don't remember doing it.'

Katara, meanwhile was having similar thoughts. 'He claimed that he didn't know how to fight,' thought Katara. 'But he was able to beat a Druddigon?! Just who is this guy?'

"Katara has told me what you had said while you were in the cave," said Gallade, pulling DJ and Katara out of their musings. "I would like to ask you a few questions, alright?."

DJ nodded slowly, not knowing what to expect. He shot a glance to Katara, but she apparently found the mat very interesting.

"Don't worry," said Gallade with a small smile. "You will not be harmed unless you are deemed as a threat. Now, Katara said that she found you in the middle of Crystal Cave, how did you get there?"

"I don't know," said DJ truthfully. "I just woke up there without any memories, except for my name, and, strangely enough, knowledge about Pokemon."

Gallade nodded. "Katara also stated that when you awoke you were surprised that you were a Pokemon. Is this correct?" he asked.

"Yes," said DJ. "I know I don't look like it, but in reality I'm actually a human."

Audrey gasped at this, but said nothing, Katara rolled her eyes, but, strangely, Gallade merely nodded. "I see," said Gallade calmly. "That might be the reason why your eyes are blue instead of red."

"Y-you believe me?!" DJ asked incredulously.

"Yes I do," said Gallade. "This is not the first time something like this happened."

"It's not?" said Katara with a shocked look on her face.

"No it's not," said Gallade. "There have been several instances where a human has been brought to our world. In fact, not to long ago, a former human graduated Wigglytuff's Guild and helped stop the planet's paralysis."

Katara just stood there and gaped at Gallade until DJ interrupted.

"So there are others like me?"

"Yes," said Gallade. "However I don't know where they are.

"Oh," said DJ sadly. "I was hoping that one of those humans could help me, but I guess not."

Katara noticed DJ's expression and said, "Do not give up hope. You can always go and look for them. And I'll help you."

DJ looked up with a shocked expression on his face. "Why would you help me?" DJ asked.

"Because," said Katara. "like I said before, I'm a member of The Gallade Guild and I will always help a Pokemon in need, even if they were not always a Pokemon. Besides," she looked to the ground and shuffled her feet nervously before continuing. "I still owe you for saving my life."

DJ looked at her, a little misty-eyed, before saying, "You don't owe me anything. You saved me from that dragon claw remember?"

"So that's how you got hit," Audrey commented.

DJ again looked guiltily at his paws, while Katara looked at him, wanting to say something to comfort him, but not knowing what to say. Gallade looked between the two young Pokemon before speaking.

"By the way, what were you doing at Crystal Cave Katara?" Katara suddenly became very interested in the floor mat again and did not respond. "Katara?" said Gallade with a little edge in his voice.

Katara visibly flinched when he said her name before speaking. "Well... I was taking a walk through the town when I saw some kind of glowing object falling from the sky, towards Crystal Cave. Soooo, I went to investigate.

Gallade breathed deeply, as if trying to control his anger. "So if I understand you correctly you went off, without telling anyone, to a dangerous location because you saw something _shiny_?" he asked.

Katara guiltily looked down before nodding. An exasperated look appeared on Gallade's face, while Audrey gave Katara a reproachful look.

"Why the hell would you do such a stupid thing?" asked Gallade with barely contained rage.

Katara's guilty expression intensified before she said, "Well," began Katara. "I am part of an exploration team, so I thought I would...explore."

"You are only a rookie member," said Audrey sternly. "You should not have gone anywhere outside of Miracle Town without a senior member from your team!"

"You could have been killed," continued Gallade. "If your leader hadn't informed me that you were missing I would have never have been there to save you. I'm afraid that I will have to contact your father about this."

Katara visibly winced when her father was mentioned, and her eyes began to tear up. After seeing this, DJ immediately felt the urge to defend Katara.

"Cut her some slack," said DJ to the two adult Pokemon. "If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here."

The two adult Pokemon turned to DJ and stared at him. DJ shrunk back a little at the gazes of the two Pokemon.

"Your crying," noted Gallade.

"Huh?" said DJ. He rubbed a paw across his eye and realized that he was indeed crying. He also noticed that his whole body was shaking, uncontrollably"That's weird. I don't know why, but I feel really sad for some reason."

Gallade looked at him with an odd look. He then looked at Katara and he gained a look of understanding.

"You're feeling Katara's emotions," said Gallade.

"Huh?" said both DJ and Katara.

"You see," said Gallade. "Riolu are known as the Emanation Pokemon because they can feel the emotions of others. You are merely reacting to Katara's strong emotions. Normally a Riolu is trained, at birth, to read the emotions of others and how to keep those emotions from affecting them, but seeing as you never had that training, your mind doesn't know how to react."

Audrey turned to Katara and addressed her. "I have to ask you to calm down, your emotions are affecting his health." she said.

Katara nodded and tried to reign her emotions. Gallade then turned his attention to Katara. "Katara," began Gallade in and kind voice. "I know I may seem to be picking on you, but you have to learn that

the world is dangerous and you have to be more careful." See Katara nod he continued. "Though I have to admit, you handled yourself remarkably well, I am proud of you."

Katara cheered up considerably after hearing these words, thus causing DJ to cheer up.

"Now," began Gallade turning back to DJ. "What do you intend to do?"

DJ looked down in deep thought. 'What should I do,' thought DJ. 'I don't no anyone and I lost my memory. Where can I go?'

"Might I make a suggestion?" asked Gallade. Upon receiving a nod he continued. "Why not join my Guild. It would give you the opportunity to explore and potentially find some of the other humans that were brought here. Plus it would give you chance to train. I happen to know a Lucario could teach you."

DJ perked up when he heard Gallade's proposal. "Really?" asked DJ excitedly. "You know someone that can teach me?"

"Yes," chuckling at the young Riolu's enthusiasm. "He would be more than willing to teach you."

"Alright I'll do it!"

"Good," said Gallade suddenly serious. "As of now, you are now apart of my guild and you will now refer to me as Master Gallade or just Master. You will be expected to work hard and to listen to the leader of the team you are assigned to. Do I make my self clear?!" Gallade asked loudly, emphasizing to his point.

DJ got out of the bed and saluted before saying, "Yes sir, Master Gallade sir!"

"Good," Gallade said with a smile. "I'm assigning you to Team Stardust, which is lead by my son Asura, do except?"

"Yes sir!" said DJ, still saluting.

"Cool!" exclaimed Katara happily. "You'll be on my team. Finally I'm not the youngest member anymore!"

Katara then began to jump around, doing front and back flips, causing the two adults to sweat-drop.

"Katara," said Audrey. "You've only been part of Team Stardust for three weeks."

"So?" said Katara. "I'm still happy. And if his wagging tail is anything to go by, DJ is too."

DJ turned and saw that his tail was indeed wagging. He quickly grabbed it and blushed, causing everyone in the room to laugh. After about a minute of laughing at DJ's suspense, Gallade spoke.

"Why don't you show DJ around the town Katara? Get him acquainted with everything that the town has to offer."

"OK," said Katara enthusiastically. She then grabbed DJ's arm and began to pull him towards the door. "Come on. You're going to love Miracle Town!"

Before they could make it to the door Audrey blocked their path. The gave them both her sweet/evil smile. Everyone, including Gallade, shivered at the look. "Please make sure you do not overexert yourselves," she said in her sweet but cold voice. "I would hate to see you two back here so soon."

"Y-y-yes Nurse Audrey!" said the two in unison.

The atmosphere instantly changed back to normal. "Good," said Audrey. "Not run along you two."

Katara quickly ran out with DJ in tow. Audrey then turned to Gallade. "Do you think it was a good idea to allow him to join your son's team?"

"I do," replied Gallade. "What do you think Asura?"

Audrey looked at him strangely, but then a monkey-like Pokemon entered. It had a light blue body and white feet. It had white bands around it's wrists and what appeared to be a diaper. It's white head was shaped like an onion with two, round, swirled ears (a Meditite). The Meditite looked at Gallade for a moment before speaking.

"You can always tell when I'm near, can't you Father."

"Indeed," said Gallade. "Tell me Asura, how much of that did you hear."

"All of it," responded Asura.

"Tsk, tsk," said Gallade. "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"I was not eavesdropping, I was merely checking on my teammate."

"Then why were you here and not in Katara's room?"

"..."

Gallade sighed at his son's attitude.

"Anyway," said Gallade. "What do you think of your new teammate?"

Asura was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't trust him."

"Why is that," asked Gallade.

"He's a human. Something not of this world. There's no way of knowing what his intentions are."

"I can tell you now," stated Asura.

"I recommend that you give him a chance," Gallade said, a little aggravated at his nephew's answer. "I can assure you that he has no ill intentions. He has a good heart and I'm sure that he will be a great asset to your team."

"I will... take your words to consideration Uncle. If that is all, I shall go check up on my team."

With that Asura turned and left.

Gallade sighed again as his son left the room. He then turned to Audrey, who had been standing there silently, watching the two relative interact. "He can be handful," said Gallade with a sad smile. "Especially after what happened to Jet."

Audrey nodded before saying, "He still hasn't recovered from that incident has he."

Gallade shook his head. "No," stated Gallade. "I fear he may never recover. That incident affected the whole guild, but he was hit the hardest."

There was silence until Gallade said, "I'm hoping that add DJ to his team will help him recover, considering how alike he is to Jet."

"But still," began Audrey. "There are somethings about DJ that worry me."

"Oh?"

"Besides the fact that he is human, he has a ridiculous healing rate. Even though he is a fighting type, and they generally heal fast, he recovered faster then I thought possible. That and the fact that he was able to defeat a Druddigon without any training. I just do not know what to make of this."

Gallade looked towards the window and stared out of it. He said nothing for awhile until finally he spoke.

"I have a theory of what is going on," said Gallade quietly. "But I pray to Arceus that I am wrong." Audrey looked at him with curiosity. Then Gallade turned to her and spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Now I must go and send word to an old friend to tell him that he has a new student."

With that Gallade left, leaving Audrey to ponder about what he had said.

**Author's notes:**

Hey. This is AuraFighter23. This chapter was recently updated due to it containing multiple grammar mistakes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 3: Team Stardust**

After joining agree to join Team Stardust, DJ is now following Katara through the tunnels of the lower levels of the guild. While following Katara DJ was also marveling at the craftsmanship of the guild.

'It must have taken forever to make these tunnels.' thought DJ.

"Come on." said Katara, breaking DJ from his thoughts. "I want to show you Miracle Town before we have to report back with the team."

"Right." responded DJ as he continued following Katara.

After a few more minutes of walking, the duo ascended a staircase and came into a big room. DJ's eyes widened as he took in the room. It was a very big room, that could probably fit three Steelix comfortably. There were to giant windows on the two outer walls, and two doors (one straight across from DJ and Katara and one on the right side wall). There were also a few Pokemon examining a huge board that had a bunch of papers on it that was located on the wall opposite of the door on DJ and Katara's right. All throughout the room their were pictures of Pokemon in various locations. DJ was about to go over and look at the board, but felt a tug on his arm.

"I can show you around the guild later." said a slightly annoyed Katara. "Right now we are going to Miracle Town." With that she began to drag DJ towards the door opposite of them.

Once they exited the guild, DJ saw that the guild itself was shaped like Gallade's head. He also noticed that the guild was surrounded by a moat, making the only way to get into the guild was to either fly or cross the drawbridge Katara was currently leading DJ towards. Once they had crossed the drawbridge, Katara turned around and moved her arms in a sweeping gesture.

"This is Miracle Town."

DJ looked around and gasped. He had not realized it at the time, but Gallade's guild was in the center of a giant city.

"Miracle Town isn't a town like the name suggests." stated Katara. "It started out as a small town, but it quickly grew as more and more Pokemon moved here." Gesturing to her right side Katara began to speak again. "On the right side of Miracle Town there are couple post offices, a pharmacy, a bank, a hospital, a huge mall that sells everything, and a movie theater."

"You have movie theaters?" asked DJ in wonder.

"Of course we do."

"Wow, I didn't know Pokemon were so advanced!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" asked Katara menacingly.

Realizing what he said, DJ quickly brought up his hands in a placating manner. "I didn't mean anything by it! I was just surprised. Like I said, there aren't any Pokemon where I'm from!"

Katara glared at him for a little while longer before huffing and continuing her explanation.

"Anyway, on the left side there are a bunch of restaurants, item stores, and a place to store goods. Our team house is located on the left side."

"Team houses?" asked DJ. "Don't the teams live in the guild?"

"No there are too many Pokemon for that. They used to have the teams live in the guild, but as more Pokemon joined the guild was forced to make team houses throughout Miracle Town. Each team house can hold up to twelve Pokemon, which is also the amount of Pokemon that one team can have. Come on, I'll show you the best place to get ice cream!" With that, Katara led DJ to the left side of Miracle Town.

The two walked in silence, just looking at the restaurants and shops that lined the streets, until DJ spoke up.

"So what are the other members like?"

"Well..." began Katara. "There are currently eight members, including me, on Team Stardust. There's Bertha, she's a Marowack. She's a little hard-headed, pun not intended, she loves to fight and acts like a brute, but she's really a nice person when you get to know her. There's Jackson the Umbreon. He's really nice and very funny, but he has a strange obsession with the moon. I'm pretty sure all Umbreon are like that though. There's Blade, he's a Scyther. He's obsessed with symmetry and he is almost always serious. Overall he's a good Pokemon. There's Drake, he's a Gabite. He almost never talks. Usually the only time he talks is to say how troublesome something is. There's also Blitz, the Pikachu. Even for an electric type, he extremely very hyperactive and he loves to play jokes on people, especially Bertha. He can get annoying, but he is dependable. Next there's Grace. She's a shiny Mawile, which means that she is a different color than other Mawile. She acts as the team's nurse. She is very kind and smart, just don't get her mad." said Katara with a shudder. "She's very scary when she's mad. She enjoys making medicine from herbs and berries. She's also an amazing cook!" Finally, there's Asura, a Meditite. He's very strict. He is very commanding and requires the best out of everyone. But deep down he's a caring individual."

DJ nodded and looked down at his feet. He was wondering how he would fit in with this team. He was also worried about how they would react to him being a human. Gallade, Nurse Audrey, and Katara accepted him, but he was worried about what the others would think. Katara noticed his expression and tapped him on the shoulder. When DJ looked up Katara gave him a reassuring smile that greatly raised his spirits. After a few more minutes of walking, the duo stopped in front of an ice cream parlor that had five tables, with blue and white umbrellas, surrounding it. The establishment itself was bright blue and had a big sign on the roof that said, Frosty's Ice Cream. As they moved closer to the parlor they could see a Pokemon behind the counter. Said Pokemon looked like a giant vanilla sundae with a ice cone. The Pokemon had two faces and an ice straw coming out of it's left head. DJ instantly recognized it as a Vanilluxe. When DJ and Katara approached the counter the Vanilluxe smiled at them.

"Welcome." said both heads in unison. "Frosty's my name..." stated the right head. "...And ice cream's my game!" finished the left head.

"Hey Frosty!" said Katara "Long time no see!"

Both of Frosty's heads turned towards Katara and smiled wider. "Katara! It's good to see you again. We were beginning to think that you had found another Ice cream parlor!" Both heads began crying fake tears.

"I would never go anywhere else! You guys are the best!"

This brightened up the pair considerably. "Good to hear! Say, what happened to you" said Frosty, gesturing to Katara's bandages.

"Oh, just an injury I got from a Druddigon." said Katara proudly.

"A Druddigon you say?" said the right head. "You must be pretty strong to take on a Druddigon!" Katara blushed at the compliment and sheepishly scratched the back of her head. The left head then turned to DJ and smiled. "And who might you be little pup?"

I-I'm DJ." DJ said with a slight stutter. "I just joined Team Stardust."

"Really?" asked the right head. "Well I guess that means you'll be working with Katara then." DJ nodded and then the left head spoke in a serious tone. "You better not let anything happen to are best customer."

"Frosty!" Katara said with a slight blush.

"Just looking out for you. Now, what can I get for you two?"

"What are your specials for today?" asked Katara.

"Are special for today is a new flavor that we're trying." said the right head. "It is a mix of Pecha berries and Cheri berries." finished the left head.

"Hmm." said Katara. "I think I'll try that."

"And you?" the left head asked, turning to DJ.

"Umm... I'll just have Pecha berry."

"OK!" said both of Frosty's heads. "Coming right up!" He then turned and went further into the parlor.

Katara led DJ to one of the nearby tables to wait for their ice cream. About two minutes later Frosty came back out with two cones, one pink and the other red and pink.

"Here you go!" said happily Frosty's left head. "Two cones, on the house to celebrate Team Stardust's new member!" said the right head with equal enthusiasm.

"Thank you!" said Katara and DJ as they accepted their ice cream.

As Frosty left to go back to the counter, Katara began to eat her ice cream. DJ stared at his ice cream for a few seconds before he gave it a tentative lick. DJ's eyes widened at the taste of the ice cream.

'Holy crap!' thought DJ. 'This is delicious!' He then began to devour the ice cream before grabbing his head in pain. 'BRAIN-FREEZE!'

Katara saw his expression and laughed. "Brain-freeze?" Seeing DJ's nod she started laughing all over again. After getting over her fit of laughter she spoke again. "That's what you get for eating ice cream so fast!"

After getting over his brain-freeze he turned to Katara. "I didn't mean to eat it that fast, but it was just so good!" As he said this his tail was wagging furiously.

Hearing this Frosty chuckled. "Looks like we've got another customer."

DJ blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before continuing to eat his ice cream, slowly this time. Once they had both finished their ice cream, Katara and DJ said goodbye to Frosty and left.

"OK." said Katara happily. "Now let's head over to the team house and introduce you to the team!"

Meanwhile: Inside Team Stardust's team house.

The house itself looked like a simple two floor house, except it was three times as big. It was mainly blue with green shutters with the name, Team Stardust, painted on the front of the house. All over the house there were small white stars that had sparkles all around them. Inside the house, on the second floor of the house there were twelve rooms, eight of which had name plates on the front of the doors. On the first floor there was a kitchen and a lounge with seven armchairs and two couches, that could fit three Pokemon each, all arranged in a half circle around a 70 inch plasma screen TV. In the lounge area of the team house there were three Pokemon sitting on some armchairs, watching TV. One of the Pokemon had a small yellow body, purple hands that looked almost like gloves, and kind red eyes. The fur that was around it's legs made it look like it was wearing a hakama. It's most noticeable feature was the giant purple mouth, that seemed to be growing out of the back of it's head. It also had two purple ear-like extensions coming out the side of it's head. It was a shiny Mawile. Another one of the Pokemon looked like a mix between a shark and a dragon. It was primarily blue with a red underbelly and lower jaw. It had four fins, one on it's back, one on each arm, and one on it's tail. It had spikes on it's legs and clawed feet. It's had had two jet engine-like things on the side of it's head and two gold eyes. It was a Gabite. The other Pokemon was almost completely green with a few cream colored stripes on it's torso/thorax. It's forearms had two white scythes. On it's back it had two pairs of cream colored wings. It's long legs had spikes of fur on it's thighs and it's feet were were clawed. It was a Scyther. The two Pokemon appeared to be watching a movie about the three Swords of Justice (Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion). Then all of a sudden shouts could be heard coming from the hallway.

"BLITZ!" came an angry female's voice. "GIVE ME BACK MY SKULL!"

"You've got to catch me first!" came a playful male voice. There was a loud crash and the sound of something breaking. "Nice try, but you've got to be faster than that!"

"BLITZ!" yelled the angry voice.

The two Pokemon in the lounge just sighed. "Sounds like Bertha and Blitz are at it again." said the clearly female Mawile. "I wonder why he keeps antagonizing her. He knows that she'll eventually catch him and beat the living daylights of of him."

"Who knows?" said the clearly male Scyther. "I just hope they don't destroy the house again. It took me forever to make everything symmetrical."

"How troublesome." stated the Gabite in a bored tone, causing the two other Pokemon to sweat-drop.

"Is there anything that isn't troublesome to you Drake?" asked Grace.

Drake thought for a moment. "No."

Suddenly a small yellow mouse-like Pokemon ran into the room carrying a skull and hid behind the Mawile with a large smile on it's face. The mouse-like Pokemon had two long ears that were tipped with black, two red circular cheeks, and three brown stripes that were on it's lower back, right over it's lighting bolt shaped tail. It was a Pikachu. Just as the Pikachu ran into the room another Pokemon, wielding a bone, came running in after it. This Pokemon was a dark brown color with a lighter brown underbelly. It's head was completely brown with two dark brown eyes, that were staring at the Pikachu with anger. It was a Marowack (without it's skull) (AN: I know that in the anime, a Marowack's skull is part of it's head, but for my story the skull acts like a helmet that can be removed). The skulless Marowack glared at the Pikachu with a sadistic grin on it's face.

"No where to run now little mouse. So just hand over my skull, and I promise not to kill you...much."

"Bertha." said the Mawile to the Marowack. "Remember what I said about killing teammates."

"Not in the team house." said Bertha in an annoyed tone."

"Now Blitz," she said turning to the Pikachu. "Give Bertha back her skull and apologize."

"But-" began Blitz but was cut off by a glare from the Mawile. "Fine." He then walked slowly to Bertha and offered up the skull. "Sorry for taking your skull." he said, not making eye contact.

"Whatever." said Bertha taking the skull and putting it on her head. "Just don't do it again or I'll smash you!"

"Oh yeah?!" said Blitz defiantly. "I'd like to see you try!"

"You asked for it!" Bertha hefted her bone and was about to hit Blitz over the head with it, but was stopped by a blue light that surrounded her body, lifting her off of the ground. Then the same light enveloped Blitz and lifted him off of the ground as well.

"You two woke me up from my nap." said a male voice from the hallway. From the hallway a black fox-like Pokemon with piercing red eyes and yellow rings covering it's body. It was an Umbreon. "I was dreaming about the moon."

"You're always dreaming about the moon Jackson." said Blitz. "Now put us down so I can show Bertha who's the boss.

Jackson gave him a withered look. "If you two want to fight please take it outside." With that the Umbreon threw the two Pokemon, with his psychic, through a nearby window.

"Was that really necessary Jackson?" asked the Mawile. "That's the third window this week."

"Sorry Grace." said the Umbreon sheepishly. "I got a little carried away there."

The Scyther got up and inspected the window. "The glass... It was broken symmetrically!" He then turned to Jackson. "You truly are an artist!"

Both Jackson and Grace sweat-dropped. "You know you're insane right Blade?" asked Grace.

"Well excuse me for having an eye for the finer things in life." said the Scyther known as Blade with a huff.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door burst open and Bertha and Blitz walked in looking livid, both glaring at Jackson.

"What's the big idea throwing us out the window?!" asked Blitz

"You woke me up." said Jackson with a slight smirk.

"And that makes it OK to throw us out a window?!" asked Bertha incredulously.

Jackson thought for a moment. "Yep!" he said cheerfully.

"That's it!" yelled Bertha. "It's clobbering time!" she said as she moved, menacingly, towards Jackson only to be stopped by Blitz.

"No way! I'm going to fight him!" yelled Blitz.

"You?" asked Bertha. "Don't make me laugh! You couldn't beat a Magikarp!"

"What did you say?! That's it you're going down!" With that he tackled Bertha and they began to fight.

"Hey!" shouted Grace. "What have we said about fighting in the house?!" When neither Pokemon stopped Grace sighed and cracked her knuckles. "I guess we gotta do this the hard way." she said as she advanced towards the two fighting Pokemon.

This was the scene that Katara and DJ arrived to.

1 minute earlier:

Both Katara and DJ were standing outside the door of the team house.

"So this is a team house." said DJ.

"Yep." said Katara. "All team houses look the same, except for paint job. That was are own personal touch."

"Wow."

"Come on. Everybody should should be here, we had a day off today." With that Katara unlocked the door and entered.

As they entered DJ noticed a lot of white stars, similar to the ones on the outside of the house, all over the walls. 'These guys take the Stardust thing way to seriously.' thought DJ slightly sweat-dropping.

"She should be in the lounge." said Katara as she led DJ down a hallway, stopping in front of a door. "You ready to meet the team?" Upon seeing DJ's nod she smiled and opened the door.

As the duo walked into the lounge they couldn't help but sweat-drop. What they saw was a Pikachu, Marowack, and a Mawile fighting each other while an Umbreon laughed at the scene and a Scyther was stared at a broken window. After about another minute of Katara and DJ awkwardly standing there, the Umbreon noticed them.

"Hey Katara! You're OK!"

As soon as he said this every other Pokemon turned towards the door.

"KATARA!" the Pikachu shouted as he ran up to her and hugged her. "We herd that you were at the guild's medical wing, but they wouldn't let anyone but Asura see you!"

"Don't worry." said Katara reassuringly. "I;m fine now."

Blitz nodded then he seemed to notice DJ standing there. "Who's the pup?"

'Why do people keep calling me a pup?' DJ wondered.

"That's DJ." said Katara. "He's going to be joining the team!"

"Really?" asked Blade staring at DJ with calculating eyes. "And why is he joining this team?"

"Well it's a long story." said Katara. "You all might want to sit down for this."

After everyone was seated, Katara told them of how she met DJ and who he was. As she told the story the sun slowly went down, signaling that it was mid-afternoon. By the end of the story all of them were staring at DJ.

"You're a human?" asked Jackson. "Wow. I thought humans were a myth."

"Well apparently not." said Blade. "And you say that you have no recollection of your life as a human?"

DJ shook his head sadly. "The only thing I can remember before I met Katara was my name."

"Dude, that sucks." said Blitz.

"Blitz." said Grace. "Don't be rude." She then turned back to DJ. "I'm sure that we'll find a way to get your memories back."

"Really?" asked DJ. "You would help me?"

"Of course." said Grace with a smile. "We are teammates after all, and teammates help each other." All of the members of Team Stardust nodded in agreement at this statement.

DJ was astonished at the kindness of the team, and found himself became a little misty-eyed.

"Speaking of which," said Grace. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Grace, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The name's Blitz! Don't wear it out!"

"Hi, I'm Jackson."

"The name's Blade, nice to meet you."

"Drake."

"My name is Bertha. I hope that we can fight at some point. I've never fought a human before." she said with a grin that made DJ shiver.

"And I'm Katara. Though you already knew me. The only one missing is Asura. Where is he anyway."

"He went to go check on you earlier." said Grace.

Almost as soon as Grace said this, the door opened revealing a scowling Meditite.

"Well speak of Giratina." said Katara. "That's our fearless leader Asura."

Asura merely scowled some more before turning to the broken window. "Who broke that?"

"Sorry." said Jackson sheepishly. "My bad."

"I take it that you had a good reason." said Asura with barely concealed anger.

"Well those two," said Jackson pointing, with his tail, to Bertha and Blitz. "Were messing around and I got annoyed, so I psyched them out the window."

Asura then turned his scowl on Blitz and Bertha. "What have I told you about fighting in the house?"

"Don't fight in the house, cause we always break stuff." said both Bertha and Blitz in unison, with a slightly bored tone."

"Good now you two go clean up whatever you broke." He then turned to Jackson. "And you go into town and by a new window."

"Yes sir." all three Pokemon said in unison and left.

"I say we leave the window as it is." said Blade. "It's symmetrical."

Asura rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No. were are replacing the window and that's that." He then turned to DJ, who slightly recoiled at the look that Asura was giving him. "Don't be expecting any special treatment just because you're a human. You'll work just as hard as everyone else and you will listen to all senior team members and do what they tell you. Do I make my self clear?"

"Y-yes." said DJ.

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir." said DJ, liking this Meditite less and less.

"Good you begin missions tomorrow." He then turned to Katara. "Show him to his room."

As Katara got up to show DJ to his new room, Asura spoke again.

"By the way. What you did was foolish. You should have never gone to a potentially dangerous place by yourself. What you did could have gotten you killed and if you continue to act like this I will remove you from this team. Your father would be severely disappointed" With that said Asura turned and left.

DJ just glared at the door that Asura exited from, while Katara began to silently cry. Grace quickly rushed to her side in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's OK." said Grace. "He just wants what's best for you."

"But he didn't have to take it that far!" said DJ angrily. "He had no right to say those kinds of things!"

"It's fine." said Katara as she wiped away her tears, trying to sound happy.

"But-"

"I said it's fine. Come on I'll show you to your room." She then grabbed DJ's wrist and pulled him to the hallway.

Once they climbed the stairs that led to the second floor, Katara led DJ to the end of the hall.

"You can have this room." said Katara brightly ushering him inside one of the rooms.

The room was completely blue with a window, a bed, and another door, that led to a bathroom.

"It's not much." said Katara. "But it's still nice. You can by stuff to put in your room with money that you earn for ding jobs. We'll also get you a name plate for your door soon. You can also re-paint it whatever color you want."

DJ, who was still upset at the way Asura treated Katara, looked at her, wondering how she could just brush off such comments.

"Katara-" began DJ, but he was cut off by Bertha and Blitz barging into the room.

"Come on!" said a breathless Blitz.

"We're throwing a party to welcome DJ to the team." said Bertha, equally breathless. With that the two grabbed Katara and DJ and dragged them back into the lounge.

Grace, Drake, and Blade went out to get snacks and other things for the party, so to pass the time they watched a movie. When Blade, Grace, Drake, and Jackson returned they all helped put up streamers, which took longer due to that fact Blade kept taking them down saying that they weren't symmetrical. After that Grace cooked a huge feast with various berries, for the none meat eaters, and steaks. DJ was a little worried about eating meat, thinking that it would make him some sort of cannibal, but after some assurance from Grace and a nod from Drake he tried it, and he had to admit. It was really good. After they ate, all of Team Stardust, minus Asura, just sat down and talked. He learned things about them, like how Blitz's older brother is also part of the guild, or that the myths regarding where Cubone and Marowack got their skulls weren't true.

"We just use whatever skull we can find." said Bertha when asked about the origin of her skull. "This skull that I'm wearing is actually a Charzard skull. And my bone is from a Skarmory, so that it's hurts a lot more than most bones!"

Once it had become late at night, Asura came down and told them all to go to bed because they would be doing missions tomorrow.

As DJ laid in his bed he thought about everything that had happened since he became a Pokemon. 'So much has happened in such a short period of time. Though everyone seems nice enough, except for Asura. He was a total jack-ass, but everyone else was OK. ...I wonder if anyone from my world misses me. I wonder if anyone realizes that I'm gone.' DJ then yawned. 'I shouldn't worry about that now. I'm going to need my sleep if I'm going to do missions tomorrow.' With that final thought, DJ drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 4: The First Mission**

A loud banging woke DJ from his blissful slumber. Groggily, he opened his eyes and glanced out the window. He was slightly irritated that it was barely light out. There was another loud bang from outside his room.

"Wake up!" shouted a voice, who DJ recognized as Bertha, from outside his door. "You don't want to be late on your first day, do you?!"

"OK." said DJ as he slowly got out of bed. "I'll be out in a second."

"Meet us in the lounge." replied Bertha.

DJ slowly went to the bathroom and splashed water on his face in order to wake himself up. He then looked at his reflection. He stared at the Riolu in the mirror, remembering everything that had occurred.

"Still a Riolu." DJ sighed. "A well. I might as well make the most of this." With that he left the bathroom and exited his room.

When he arrived in the lounge, DJ saw that Katara was chatting with Jackson and Grace, Blade was talking with Drake (it was a one-sided conversation), and Bertha was arguing with Blitz, again. DJ stood there for a moment, awkwardly, before sitting a little way away from everyone. Katara noticed this and spoke up.

"DJ, why are you sitting over there?"

"Well you guys were talking and I didn't want to interrupt..." said DJ, his voice slowly getting softer until he was just mumbling.

Everyone just looked at him strangely. DJ began to feel even more awkward and he began to shrink back into the armchair that he was sitting in. They stared at him for a few more moments before Drake spoke.

"You're very shy." he said bluntly.

"No I'm not." said DJ defensively.

"Yes you are." said Blitz. "We can feel your uneasiness."

DJ mentally cursed forgetting that, as an untrained Riolu, others around him could feel his emotions. "I'm not shy. It just takes me awhile to 'warm up' to people. I guess..." he added not sure if what he said was true.

"You were talking to us fine yesterday." said Katara.

"Yeah..." said DJ. "I think I was still in shock about being turned into a Pokemon."

"Well you don't have to be shy around us pup." said Bertha.

"I'm not shy." said DJ a little louder, slightly irritated about being called a pup. 'Why does everyone keep calling me that.' thought DJ.

Before anymore could be said the door to the lounge opened, revealing Asura, who was holding a few papers. As he entered everyone stood at attention.

"Alright everyone." said Asura. "I have everyone's missions for the day. Blade and Drake, you are to capture an outlaw at Rugged Mountain." He then handed a paper, that had the details of the mission, to Blade, who carefully held it in his scythes. He looked at the paper then nodded to Drake and they both left. "Bertha and Blitz, you two are going to escort a client through Whisper Forest." said Asura as he handed them the paper. "Grace, a client lost an item somewhere in Sea-stone Cave. You are to retrieve it. Finally, Jackson you will accompany Katara and DJ as their senior officer until further notice."

"Great, I get to be their babysitter." said Jackson in a joking tone.

"Hey!" shouted Katara and DJ in union.

"Anyway." said Asura gaining their attention. "You three will be going to Fractured Cave on a rescue mission." He then handed the paper to DJ, who was the closest, and said, "Good luck." With that he turned and left without another word.

"OK." said Jackson. "We need to go to Kangaskhan Storage to pick up some supplies for the mission. Let's go." With that, the three Pokemon left.

After a few minutes of walking past various shops, the trio came upon a huge square building. The building was almost all brown and it had a sign that read, Kangaskhan's Storage. As they approached the counter a huge dinosaur-like Pokemon turned around. It was all brown, except for its stomach and ears (which looked like a kangaroo's), with plates growing out of its shoulders and a spiked tail. Its face had a rounded snout, two fangs protruding out of its mouth, and two red eyes that were filled with kindness. It also had a pouch on its stomach, that appeared to have something in it. DJ recognized it as a Kangaskhan. When the Kangaskhan saw the trio it smiled.

"Hello." said the Kangaskhan, with an elderly female voice. "Jackson. Katara it's good to see you again. And who might you be little pup?" the Kangaskhan said to DJ.

'Seriously.' thought DJ. 'What's with everyone calling me a pup?!' "My name is DJ, Ma'am ."

"Don't call me Ma'am." said the Kangaskhan sweetly. "That makes me sound old. Just call me Auntie Cana. Everyone does. So you're the human that turned into a Pokemon, right?"

DJ gasped. "How did you know?"

"Gallade told me. You see, me an your guild master are old friends."

DJ just nodded, not knowing what else to say. At that moment Cana's pouch wiggled, and a tiny, purple, Kangaskhan popped out. It looked at the group, and when it saw Katara it smiled.

"Katawa! Jackie!" the young Kangaskhan shouted as it jumped into Katara's arms.

"Hey Mai." said Katara. "How have you been?"

"Good!" said Mai happily as she nuzzled against Katara's neck. She then noticed DJ and she jumped from Katara's arms to DJ, who barely caught her. "Puppy!" she shouted, causing DJ to sweat-drop and everyone else to laugh.

'Her too?!' thought DJ. 'What the hell is with people calling me that?!"

"Now Mai." said Cana, lightly chuckling at the young Kangaskhan's antics. "Be polite." She then turned to Jackson. "Now what can I do for you all?"

"Just a standard adventure pack." said Jackson.

"OK." said Cana. "Coming right up." She then turned and went deeper into the storage facility. After a few minutes she returned with a large blue backpack. "Here you go. One standard adventure pack."

"Thanks Auntie Cana." said Jackson as he used psychic to levitate the pack to the ground. He then turned to Katara and DJ, who was being petted, much to his displeasure, by an overly excited Mai. "OK, because you're both rookies we will use this pack. It is about twenty pounds, when you two get better we will make our own pack, which will be a lot lighter. It has ten of each berry, several various orbs, some seeds, a map, and our explorer badges. He then began to rummage through the bag before he levitated a small device. The device was round with wings on the side and a small green stone in the center (picture the badge design from Explores of Sky). It also had a small red button and a small blue button on the side. "The buttons on the badges," Jackson continued. "Are used in two circumstances. The red button acts as a voice recorder, in case you are on a undercover mission, while the blue button alerts a member of the Pokemon Apprehension Agency. They are called to take an outlaw away when you have knocked it out." He then rummaged through the bag again and pulled out a map. "This map is a map of Shion, which is the continent we are on. The orbs," said Jackson pulling out a light blue sphere. "All have various uses. The name of the orb is engraved on it and to activate it you simply smash it to the ground. Any questions?" Both DJ and Katara shook their heads. "Good so let's go!"

"Wait." said Cana. She reaches under the counter and pulls out a scarf, a ribbon, and a bandana. The scarf was white with black polka-dots all over it, the ribbon was green and had black at both ends and the bandana was completely red. "Here. Take these. The scarf is called a Defense Scarf, the ribbon is a Joy Ribbon, and the bandana is known as a Power Band. I'm sure they will help you on explorations."

"Thank you Auntie Cana." said the trio said. Jackson used psychic to tie the Defense Scarf around his neck, Katara wrapped the Joy Ribbon around her arm, as her neck was covered in bubbles, and DJ tied the Power Band on his forehead.

Jackson then turned to DJ. "Since you are the junior member of the group, you get to carry the bag."

DJ grumbled at this, but put Mai down, much to her disappointment, and slung the bag onto his back like it weighed nothing, causing Cana, Katara, and Jackson to gape at him.

"What?" asked DJ as he noticed them staring at him.

"You're carrying that like it weighs nothing." Katara exclaimed.

"It's not that heavy." said DJ causing them to gape some more.

"I knew fighting types were strong." said Cana. "But for a pup that's impressive."

DJ shifted his feet nervously. He didn't see what the big deal was because he was sure that, as a human, he carried things that were a lot heavier than the pack. 'And why do they keep calling me a pup?!'

"Anyway." said Jackson. "Let's get going. Rugged Mountain is about a twenty minute walk from here."

"Isn't there some kind of bus that we could take?" asked DJ, not wanting to walk that far.

"What's a bus?" asked Jackson confusedly.

"Never mind." sighed DJ.

"Funny puppy!" laughed Mai.

DJ sweat-dropped. "Can we just go now?"

With that the trio said goodbye to Cana and Mai and set off.

"Sooo." said Jackson after about fifteen minutes after leaving Kangaskhan's Storage. "What do you think of Auntie Cana?"

"She seems nice." replied DJ. "She acted really... 'motherly'."

"Yeah." said Katara. "All Kangaskhan are like that, even to those they have just met. So..." began Katara with a sly smirk. "What did you think of Mai?"

DJ sweat-dropped. "She was... nice."

Both Katara and Jackson chuckled at his response. "Yeah she's really happy-go-lucky." said Katara. "She's actually a good judge of character. She only acts that way to Pokemon that have good hearts."

DJ scratched the back of his head sheepishly. They continued walking in silence before they came upon a cave entrance. A strange crystal-like structure near the entrance caught DJ's attention, but before he could examine it Jackson spoke up

"This is Fractured Cave." said Jackson. "DJ, read the details of the job."

DJ pulled out the paper that Asura had given him and read it. "The request is from a couple of Typhlosion. It says that we are looking for a young Cyndaquil named Furno, who got lost somewhere in the dungeon."

"OK." stated Jackson. "We are about to enter a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon is a cave, mountain, forest, or other place that has been put under some kind of spell. Don't ask me how a place is put under a spell, because no one knows. Now, mystery dungeons have a set number of floors, this dungeon has six floors. Each floor magically changes so that every time you go through it, it is different. To get through a floor you must find a stairway that leads to the next floor. Once you go through to the next floor the staircase disappears. If you are separated in a dungeon do NOT go through the stairs. Because if you go without your teammates it becomes a lot harder to find you. Also watch out for various traps that hidden throughout dungeons. There are three ways to exit a dungeon. One is to go through all the floors and take the exit, which is at the end of all dungeons. The second way is to use an Escape Orb. The final way is with this bad boy." pointing to the crystal-like structure. "This is a giant teleport gem, which are located outside of every known mystery dungeon. Teleport gems are crystals that have been pumped full of psychic energy that are directly connected with our exploration badges. If you press the center of your badge, while in a dungeon, you and every non-feral Pokemon around you are teleported out of the dungeon. They were created for explores so that they wouldn't have to lug around escape orbs everywhere. Finally if you are trapped in a mystery dungeon for too long, you will begin to become feral. That's why it's imperative that we find Furno. Now let's go!"

As they entered the cave DJ noticed that as soon as they entered there were various pathways leading in different directions, one of which was partially blocked by a boulder.

"Oh, I forgot to mention." said Jackson. "Each floor is basically a maze, so we'll probably have to walk around a lot before we find the stairs. Now most of the Pokemon here are rock types so you two should have no problem here."

"Umm... Jackson?" said DJ nervously, causing Jackson to turn and face him. "I don't know any fighting type moves."

Jackson gaped at DJ. "What? What kind of fighting type doesn't know any fighting type moves?"

DJ just gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh, right." said Jackson with an embarrassed look on his face. "I forgot you were a human. Well... I don't know much about fighting type moves, but there is one move that I've heard about. It's called force palm. From what I've heard, you just focus your energy into your paw, slam it against something, then release it. Try it on that boulder."

DJ gave Jackson a skeptical look, but walked over to the boulder and tried to imagine his energy go to his paw. He gasped when he actually felt energy begin to course through his paw. Without a second thought he slammed his paw against the boulder and released the energy. The was a small flash of light where DJ's paw hit the boulder, then nothing

"Well damn." said Jackson. "I guess that didn't wo-" he was cut of when cracks began to appear on the boulder. The boulder then exploded, sending debris everywhere. "I stand corrected."

"Damn!" said Katara, staring a DJ in shock. "Now I see how you beat that Druddigon!"

DJ blushed a little at the comment. "Anyway, let's go find Furno." he said with new found confidence.

The trio went down a random path and walked, taking random turns until they reached a room. The room was empty except for a lone red seed, sitting in the middle of the room. Jackson walked over to it and examined it.

"This is a Blast Seed." said Jackson. "When you eat one flames will shout out of your mouth and damage anything in front of you. Put it in the bag DJ, it could come in handy later."

After DJ picked up the seed and placed it into the bag, the trio set off down another path. They came upon another room with a staircase. The trio went down the staircase, and like Jackson said, it disappeared when they got to the next floor. They walked for a few more minutes until they came upon their first feral Pokemon. It looked like a floating rock with two bulky arms and two beady black eyes.

"That's a Geodude." said Jackson. "OK you two, show me what you've got."

"Your not helping?" DJ asked incredulously.

"Nope. I'm just here to make sure you two don't get in over your heads. Good luck."

No sooner had he said that the Geodude rushed Katara and DJ using tackle. They both jumped out of the way and glared at the feral Pokemon.

"Fine then." said DJ, removing the pack so he could move better. "Let's take this overgrown pebble out!"

As if hearing DJ, the Geodude became enraged at DJ's words and tried to tackle him, but Katara shot out a bunch of bubbles at the Geodude. When the bubbles hit the Geodude it cried out in pain. Not giving the Geodude a chance to recover, DJ charged the Geodude and used force palm to send it flying into a wall, knocking it out. With the Geodude unconscious, DJ picked up the pack again and the trio set off again.

The trio encountered a few more Geodude and a couple of Roggenrola before they came upon the next set of stairs. As the entered the next floor they saw that the set of stairs to the next floor was in the same room as them.

"That's really lucky." said Jackson. "That almost rarely happens."

Without another word the trio made it to the fourth floor, where the missing Cyndaquil should be. As they were about decide which path to go down they heard a child's scream. Without so much of a hesitation the trio sprinted off to the direction of the scream. As they came into a room they saw a giant rock snake (Onix) baring down upon a smaller shrew-like Pokemon that had a long nose, blue and cream colored fur, and four red spots on its back (Cyndaquil). The Onix raised its tail and was about to crush the Cyndaquil, but DJ used quick attack to grab the Cyndaquil and ran away before the attack could hit. The Onix roared in confusion, wondering where it prey had gone, when an orb of water hit it in the face.

The Onix roared in pain and turned to Katara, glaring. It then slammed its tail to the ground making rocks fall from the ceiling over where Katara was standing (Rock Throw). Katara quickly jumped out of the way, but was hit in the stomach by the Onix's tail (Slam). Katara hit the opposite wall and slumped to the ground. The Onix reared its head back and prepared to headbutt Katara, but as it shot its head forward DJ appeared in front of it and used force palm to counteract the headbutt. The Onix roared in pain as it moved back, shaking its head. Katara used this opportunity to launch another water pulse at the Onix, making it cry out again.

DJ jumped high into the air, landing on the Onix's head and used force palm on it. The hit was so hard that visible cracks formed on the Onix's head where it was struck. The Onix screeched in pain and rage as it shook its head violently, sending DJ crashing into the wall. Just as the Onix began to advance towards DJ's prone form, it was hit by a barrage of bubbles. The Onix roared in pain and swung its tail at Katara.

Seeing the attack, Katara leapt over the tail and shot a water pulse at the Onix's face, doing major damage. As the Onix shook its head in an attempt to alleviate the pain that it was feeling, DJ recovered and hit the Onix with another force palm. The Onix shuddered, then slumped forward and, to DJ, Katara, and Jackson's horror, fell towards the young Cyndaquil. Thinking quickly DJ dashed forward towards the petrified Cyndaquil, his speed dwarfing his previous speed. A white line seeming to come from DJ's back as he ran forward. Just as he reached the young Cyndaquil, the Onix hit the ground, creating a shroud of dust that blocked DJ and the Cyndaquil from view.

"DJ!" Katara and Jackson shouted, as they looked on in horror. The two waited with bated breath as they hoped beyond hope that their friend was alright. After what felt like hours, a figure walked out of the dust. When more of the dust settled, the figure turned out to be DJ, carrying the still terrified Cyndaquil.

"DJ! You're okay!" Katara shouted in relief. Her face then gained a stern look. "What were you thinking?!"

"What? You didn't expect me to just leave this little guy for dead did you?" DJ asked rhetorically, gesturing to the young Pokemon that was curled up in his arms.

Katara sighed. "No," she grumbled. "Just don't do anything like that again. Also, how did you move that fast?"

"I think I can shed some light upon this situation," Jackson said, drawing the duo's attention. "I believe that you instinctively used quick attack in order to save little Furno here. Speaking of little Furno, we should probably get him out of here."

Realizing that he was still holding the little Cyndaquil, DJ looked down at him and spoke reassuringly. "Hey there little guy. Are you Furno?" The little Cyndaquil looked up at him and nodded. DJ smiled. "Good. We were sent here by your parents to find you."

The young Cyndaquil then hugged DJ as if he would disappear and sobbed, repeating "thank you" over and over again.. DJ was surprised by this action at first, but then his expression softened and he began to pat the crying Cyndaquil on the back, trying to calm him down.

"It's OK." said DJ reassuringly. "You're safe now. Come on let's go see your parents."

Furno nodded and DJ carried the Cyndaquil in his arms and walked over to Jackson and Katara. Katara then pressed the stone in the middle of the badge and they were all teleported out of the dungeon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 5: Glyph**

Outside of Fractured Cave, the teleport gem released a bright light. When the light faded, DJ, Katara, Jackson, and Furno appeared, looking sightly disoriented.

"Ugh." said Katara. "I didn't realize that teleporting was so nauseating."

"Yeah." agreed Jackson. "It takes some getting used to."

While Katara and Jackson were talking DJ spoke to Furno. "How are you holding up Furno?" DJ asked the little Cyndaquil, who was still in his arms.

"I'm OK." said Furno. "I'm just a little tired from running from that Onix."

"That's OK. I can carry you if you want."

Furno nodded then looked at the group. "By the way, who are you guys. I know my parents sent you, but what are your names."

"I'm DJ. The Froakie is Katara and the Umbreon is Jackson. We're members of Gallade's guild and Team Stardust."

Furno nodded and closed his eyes (AN: a Cyndaquil's eyes are open, the just squint) and snuggled up against DJ's fur. Soon soft snoring could be heard from the Cyndaquil, indicating that he fell asleep. This caused DJ to lightly chuckle, as he adjusted his hold on Furno to make him more comfortable.

Katara noticed this and smiled. "Aww. Look at that. He fell asleep. That's sooo cute!"

Jackson and DJ both sweat-dropped at this statement. "OK." said Jackson. "Let's get the little guy home." With that they set off back to Miracle Town.

After about twenty minutes of walking the trio, and a sleeping Furno, walked across the bridge and into the guild. DJ woke up Furno as they entered the guild. As soon as they entered there was a shout.

"FURNO!" cried two Typhlosion as they ran towards the group.

"MOM!" yelled Furno as he jumped out of DJ's arms and embraced his parents.

Every Pokemon in the room smiled at this heart-warming sight. All three of the newly reunited Pokemon were crying tears of happiness as the embraced each other. After about five minutes of hugging the female Typhlosion spoke.

"What on earth were you doing near Fractured Cave?" she asked, still crying.

"I was playing in the forest." responded Furno. "Then I accidentally entered the cave and the entrance disappeared. I was so scared. Pokemon kept attacking me and I would have been a goner if Katara, Jackson, and big brother DJ hadn't rescued me from that Onix."

'...Big brother?' thought DJ as he sweat-dropped.

The two Typhlosion turned and faced the trio. "Thank you for saving our son." said the father. "I don't know how we can possibly thank you enough."

"It was no trouble Ma'am." stated DJ. "We're an exploration team. It's what we do."

Both Katara and Jackson sweat-dropped at DJ's statement. 'He's only been a member for a day and he's acting like he's been doing this for years.' thought both Katara and Jackson.

Furno, however, had stars in his eyes (not that you could see them because he was squinting). "That's so cool! When I grow up I'm going to join a guild and become an explorer like big brother!"

DJ sweat-dropped at the big brother comment, but smiled at the enthusiastic Cyndaquil.

"You do that kid."

"Your reward is at the receptionist desk." said the mother. "Again thank you for saving are son. Feel free to visit anytime."

"You'll come visit, right big brother?" asked Furno.

Again DJ sweat-dropped, but smiled. "Of course I will."

Furno ran up and hugged DJ, which surprised him at first, but eventually he returned the hug. The family said there goodbyes and left the guild, happy to be together again.

As they left, Jackson turned towards DJ with a sly look on his face.

"First day on the job and your already inspiring kid?"

DJ chuckled sheepishly. "I guess so, but why did he keep calling me big brother?"

"Because you made an impression on him." responded Jackson. "You were the first non-feral Pokemon he saw in almost two days. To him, you are like an older brother who would protect him from harm."

"That's so cute!" said Katara with hearts in her eyes.

Both DJ and Jackson sweat-dropped at the Froakie's antics. "You think everything is cute."deadpanned Jackson.

"What was that?!" said Katara rounding on Jackson and glaring at him. "Care to repeat that?"

"N-n-no!" said Jackson, shivering under Katara's glare.

DJ coughed gaining the attention of both Pokemon. "Sooo... Where do we get the reward?"

"At the receptionist desk." said Jackson, thankful for the change in subject. He then proceeded to walk over to the door on the wall adjacent to them, closely followed by DJ. Katara huffed and followed them too.

Once the trio opened the door they entered a room that looked like a normal office, with multiple filing cabinets located behind a desk. Sitting at the desk was a yellow human-like Pokemon with a long yellow mustache. It had two pointed ears on the top of its head, a long snout, and a red star on its forehead. It had a segmented body with bulky shoulders, a brown torso, and three red wavy lines on its abdomen. It also had two thin arms that ended in three fingers and a big yellow tail(Kadabra). The Kadabra looked at them with a calm and serious expression.

"What can I do for you three?" asked the male Kadabra.

"Team Stardust reporting a success on the missing Cyndaquil mission." stated Jackson.

The Kadabra nodded then pulled out a spoon (from who knows where) and pointed it at a cabinet. One of the cabinet doors glowed blue and opened, and a file floated out and to the hand of the Kadabra.

"Mission 35684." said the Kadabra. "Reward: eight hundred poke (currency in this world) minus the twenty percent given to the guild makes it six hundred and forty poke." The Kadabra then walked past the cabinets and out of sight. After about a minute the Kadabra returned with a small bag of coins. "Here you go."

"Thank you." said Jackson as he used psychic to levitate the bag to DJ. "Put that in the bag please."

DJ did as instructed and the trio left the office and made their way out of the guild. As they exited the guild Katara looked up at the sun.

"Wow." she said. "It's still early in the day. I didn't think that we would get done so fast."

"I know." said Jackson. "Well since we have time on our hands why don't we go get something to eat.

As if on cue, DJ's stomach growled loudly, causing both Katara and Jackson to burst out laughing. DJ blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry." said an embarrassed DJ. "I didn't eat anything this morning, and with everything that has happened I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"Well you have to get up early if you want to get something to eat." replied Jackson. "Come on. I know a great place to get something to eat."

The trio then turned left and went towards the shopping and eating district. After a few minutes the trio are sitting in a restaurant that served breakfast all the time(imagine Bob Evans (great place by the way)). Katara ordered a fruit salad, because she doesn't eat meat, Jackson ordered a steak, and DJ ordered pancakes. When they got their food, Katara and Jackson watched in awe as DJ devoured his meal in under five minutes. When he was done he sighed contently, before noticing the stares his teammates were giving him.

"What?" he asked sheepishly.

"Damn." said Jackson. "You were hungry."

DJ blushed and waited for the others to finish their food. Once they had finished, the trio payed the bill and left.

"No what?" asked Katara. "We still have a few hours before we have to report to the guild house."

"Hmm." responded Jackson. "I know! We can see Glyph."

"Glyph?" asked DJ.

"Yeah." responded Jackson. "He's a Sigilyph who knows everything. He normally just sits and watches the sun (Think Xatu from Red/Blue Rescue Team). He claims that the sun gives him knowledge about the past, present, and future. Much like the moon can do for Umbreon." This statement caused DJ and Katara to sweat-drop. "He might even know something about how DJ became a Pokemon and how he can go back!"

This got DJ's attention. "Really?! You think he can help me?!" he asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not."

"Well let's go!" DJ said excitedly, following Jackson down a path. Neither of them noticing Katara's crestfallen expression.

After three minutes of walking the trio came upon a hill overlooking Miracle Town. At the edge of the hill there was a bizarre looking flying Pokemon floating there, staring at the sun. The Pokemon had spherical shaped body with two multicolored wings and a tail with a similar shape and color. It also had two black feet on the side of its body and a black 'head' (Sigilyph). When the trio got within a yard of the Sigilyph, it turned around and stared at them with its three cerulean eyes.

"Hello." said the Sigilyph (with a Morgan Freeman like voice). "I've been expecting you. Katara, Jackson, and the former human, DJ. You have come seeking knowledge of the world you came from, correct?"

"How did you know?" gasped DJ.

The Sigilyph turned back around and faced the sun before answering. "The sun told me."

Jackson coughed, drawing the attention of the other three. "The sun?" asked Jackson in a disbelieving tone. "Get real Glyph. The moon is a more reliable source of information."

"If the moon had information why did we come all the way here?" asked Katara with a sweat-drop.

Before Jackson could reply, Glyph spoke up. "You believe that the moon holds more information than the sun? Preposterous. The sun's knowledge is infinite, while the knowledge that the moon can provide is limited."

"Take that back!" yelled Jackson, glaring at the Sigilyph. "The moon knows almost as much as Arceus himself. I will not allow you to speak ill of the moon!"

Before either could speak another word DJ interrupted. "Could you two please save your argument for later. I want to know about my world!"

The two turned away from each other with embarrassed looks on there faces.

"Right." said Glyph, regaining his composure. "Anyway, you wanted to know about your world, so listen closely. You are not actually from another world, but rather from one of the many dimensions that surround our universe."

"Wait." interrupted Katara. "There are other dimensions?"

"Yes." replied Glyph. "There are many dimensions, far too many to count. There are dimensions with only humans, like DJ's dimension, dimensions with humans and Pokemon, there are even dimensions with creatures similar to Pokemon, but made of data. There is even a dimension where humans fight each other with cards that have the ability to summon powerful monsters. But anyway, each dimension floats separately from the other dimensions unless they are connected by a powerful force. There have been several incidents where these dimensions have become connected, allowing inhabitants of other dimensions to enter another. Believe it or not, you are not the first human to appear in this town. Another appeared fifteen years ago. In a way, you remind a little of him." he said turning to DJ.

"Really?" DJ asked eagerly. "Do you know where I could find him?"

"Unfortunately, no." replied Glyph. "He disappeared ten years ago."

"Oh... Then do you know how I can return to my world?"

"Sadly, that is another no. I do not know how to open a rift between dimensions. I am sorry, but I cannot help you."

"Oh.." said DJ in a defeated tone. He looked down, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

"If I learn anything that may help you, I will be sure to tell you." said Glyph, trying to console the saddened Riolu.

"Thank you." said DJ, lightly rubbing his eyes and turning away. "Sorry for wasting your time." With that he walked away with Jackson and Katara following him.

As the trio made their way down the hill, Jackson and Katara were trying to cheer DJ up to no avail.

"Don't worry." said Katara. "I'm sure you'll find a way back home."

"Yeah, don't worry." said Jackson. "I will personally ask the moon myself if there is anyway for you to return to your own dimension."

"Thanks guys." DJ said with a sad smile. "I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I just don't know what to do."

"Well why don't you ask Gallade?" asked Katara. "If there was another human in Miracle Town he must have known about it."

DJ instantly perked up. "That's a good idea!" he shouted in happiness. "I'm going to go ask him, I'll meet you guys at the guild house!" and with that he took off at incredible speeds, literally, leaving Katara and Jackson in the dust.

In his office, Gallade was sitting at his desk filling out some forms with a cup of hot Chesto berry juice (the equivalent to coffee in the Pokemon world).

'Ugh.' thought Gallade. 'I'm one of the strongest Pokemon in this town, but even I am defenseless against paperwork.' He then sighed and looked to his window. "I wish something would happen so that I can put this off."

No sooner had he uttered those words, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in." said Gallade, thanking Arceus for answering his prayers.

The door opened revealing DJ, who was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"DJ." exclaimed Gallade. "Good to see you. How are you adjusting?"

"I'm fine." replied DJ, barely containing his excitement. "The team is really nice, and I even learned a new move!"

"Good to hear. Now, what can I do for you?" he said taking a sip of his drink.

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to the other human that appeared in Miracle Town."

Gallade nearly spewed his drink when he heard the question. "H-h-how did you know about him?"

"Glyph told me when Jackson, Katara, and I visited him today." replied DJ. "So there really was another human in this town? What was he like? What Pokemon was he? "Where is he?" DJ asked excitedly.

Gallade mentally cursed Glyph for divulging this information. "Well... he joined the guild, much like you did, when he appeared in this world and he formed his own team. He was also a Riolu like you."

DJ looked at him in amazement when he heard that the other human was a Riolu too. 'That must have been why Glyph said I was like him.' he thought. "Where is he know?"

"I'm afraid I do not know." replied Gallade with a suppressed grimace. "He disappeared ten years ago."

"Oh." said DJ, crestfallen at hearing that Gallade didn't know where he was. "Well, where was the last place he was seen. I might be able to find him if-"

"NO!" shouted Gallade as he slammed his hands on his desk, startling DJ. "You are NOT, under any circumstances, to look for him! That's an order!"

"B-but why?" asked DJ, still shaken at Gallade's outburst.

"Don't question me." said Gallade. "I've given you an order, and I expect you to follow it."

"But he might know something." argued DJ. "He's the only lead I've got on figuring out how and why I came to this world! Please, let me look for him!"

Seeing the look on DJ's face, Gallade's eyes softened. "DJ... I'm sorry, but there are somethings in this world that you are better off not knowing. Now please, follow my instructions and don't seek him out."

DJ looked like he wanted to argue, but he held his tongue and looked down. "Fine. As you wish _Guild Master_," he said, emphasizing Guild Master to show his irritation. He then turned an began to leave before stopping and turning back. "Glyph said I was like him. Is that true, or am I forbidden to know that too?" When he did not receive an answer, DJ left and slammed the door.

Gallade sighed and looked towards the window again. 'I hope you aren't like him. Because if you are, it will end badly for all of us.'

A few more days passed and DJ slowly began to feel more at home with Team Stardust. He still thought Asura was a jerk, but he liked everyone else. He slowly began to open up and actually talk without being talked to first, showing that he was getting used to them. Because of this the team began to see that, once he became relaxed with those around him, he was a fun loving person/Pokemon who would make jokes, even if they sometimes fell flat, but could get serious when it was called for. It was discovered that if he was pranked, he would always get them back. This was discovered after Blitz gave him a Tamato berry (which are spicy), telling him it was sweet. The result was DJ getting even by slipping a Tamato berry AND a Iapapa berry (which are not only sour, but also confuse a Pokemon) into Blitz's food. It was also discovered, after Katara succeeded in sneaking up on him and scaring him, causing him to vow revenge, that he had a knack for sneaking up on others and scaring the crap out of them. He would sometimes even enter a room and stand directly behind someone, without them noticing, for minutes at a time. All in all, he fit in well with Team Stardust. It was on the fourth day that he, Katara, and Jackson received startling news.

"You're giving us an outlaw mission?!" Katara asked/shouted.

"That's what I said." said Asura with a slightly irritated look. "You are to go to Diamond Pond and apprehend an Electabuzz."

"Are you sure?" asked Jackson with concern. "They're still rookies, do you really think they're ready to take on an outlaw?"

"That is to be determined." replied Asura. "You have your orders. Don't fail." With that he left.

"OK then." said Jackson with a hint of worry in his voice. "This will be your first outlaw mission. Let's get are gear and head out."

As they left, DJ could not help but to feel excited. 'This is my first outlaw.' he thought, his tail wagging in excitement. 'This is gonna be fun.' Little did he know that this mission would be anything but fun.


	6. Chapter 6

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 6: Failure and Success**

Later, outside of a mystery dungeon called Glittering Forest, Jackson, Katara, and DJ were going through their equipment in order to make sure that they have everything that they would need for their mission.

"OK then." said Jackson. "We've got everything we need, and then some."

"Joy..." said DJ half-heatedly, not looking forward to carrying the pack. "You know I may be strong, but that doesn't mean you can use me like a pack mule."

Both Katara and Jackson stared at him before asking, in unison, "What's a pack mule?"

DJ sweat-dropped. "It's a... I-I can't remember." He then sighed, looking a little depressed. "Looks like I've got another thing to add to the list of things I can't remember."

"DJ." said Jackson. "Remember what we talked about. We can feel your emotions, so until you can control them, lighten up!"

"R-right, sorry." said DJ sheepishly. "Anyway, why are we here? I thought the outlaw was at Diamond Pond."

Jackson sighed in exasperation. "I told you on the way here! In order to get to Diamond Pond we have to go through Glittering Forest!"

"Riiiight." said DJ as he began to walk to the entrance to the dungeon. "Well let's go."

"Wait," said Jackson as he used psychic to levitate DJ back over to them. "We can't go rushing off. This is an outlaw, not some wild Pokemon. This Pokemon can think and plan. If we aren't careful we could all end up dead."

"I know, I know." said DJ impatiently. "But it's nothing we can't handle. So let's go!"

"Sheesh, where did this energy coming from?" Jackson asked DJ. "You were depressed a second ago."

"Sorry." said Katara with an embarrassed look on her face. "He's probably feeling my emotions. I'm just so excited!"

Jackson sighed. "Katara calm down. You know DJ's sensitive to the emotions of others."

Katara blushed and scratched the back of her head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry."

"Well anyway." said Jackson. "Let's get going, but remember. Keep on your guard. This dungeon has seven floors and there's no telling what could happen in the dungeon, or what could happen when we face the outlaw. Now let's get going." With that the trio entered the forest.

In the dungeon there were many grass and bug type Pokemon, mainly Budew and Weedle. Through the floors DJ would go up against the grass types, so that Katara would not have to, and Katara would fight the bug types. Jackson didn't fight because he was simply observing and making sure the duo didn't get in over their heads. After about a two hours of non-stop fighting, the trio finally made it to the seventh floor.

"DAMN!" shouted Katara as he knocked out another Weedle. "Why are there so many Pokemon in this dungeon?!"

"I know!" said DJ. "There are a lot more Pokemon in this dungeon then the other ones we've been to."

"Look on the bright side." said Jackson cheerfully. "The exit is over there and-" he was cut short by a glares sent by Katara and DJ. "A-anyway, once we go through the exit, we face the outlaw. He is an Elekid (AN: I changed it from an Electabuzz to an Elekid because an Electabuzz would be to powerful of an enemy to fight right off the bat.) so Katara, be careful. I will be behind you guys and I'll only interfere if you two get in over your heads. Ready?" Seeing the two nod he smiled. "Alright then. Good luck you two."

As the trio exited the forest they were met with a breathtaking view. All around them were big trees and flowers of various color and in the middle of it all there was a big pond that seemed to sparkle like diamonds.

'Wow.' thought DJ. 'I see why they call it Diamond Pond.' He then looked around some more. 'Where's the outlaw?'

No sooner had this thought crossed DJ's mind, a voice rang out from behind a nearby tree. "So they finally sent someone after me? I must say you don't look very impressive."

From behind a tree a Pokemon walked out. The Pokemon was completely yellow, except for the black rings that it had on its arms and body and a black lightning bolt on its stomach. Its most noticeable feature was its head, which looked like a plug (Elekid).

"So your the outlaw." said Katara.

"That's right, the name's Elekid (AN: I didn't feel like giving him a name)." said the Elekid. "And who re you losers?"

"We're Team Stardust!" said Katara. "And you're under arrest! Surrender now or we will be forced to attack!"

Elekid burst out laughing. "You?! You think you can beat me?! That's rich! Well if you're so confident, come at me." And with that the fight began.

As soon as he said those words, Elekid charged Katara and DJ with tackle, forcing them to jump away. Katara retaliated with a water pulse, but Elekid merely sidestepped. DJ threw the pack down and charged in with quick attack and slammed into the outlaw, making him stumble back. Elekid quickly recovered and glared at DJ. He then reared his arm back and electricity surrounded his fist (Thunder Punch). He then nailed DJ in the face with his electrified fist. DJ was sent flying into a nearby tree, dazed. The Elekid went to finish him off, but Katara intercepted him with another water pulse, which hit him dead on. Elekid stumbled and growled at Katara before shooting out a bolt of electricity at Katara (Thundershock). The attack hit Katara dead on, causing her to cry out in pain as she was sent flying. Elekid was about launch another thundershock at Katara, but DJ appeared in front of him with quick attack and slammed his palm against Elekid's stomach. At first nothing happened, but then there was a bright light and Elekid went flying into a nearby tree. Before Elekid could recover, DJ used quick attack to close the distance between the two, and used force palm, causing Elekid to go flying again. DJ smirked, thinking that he had the battle one, and used quick attack again, only to have the outlaw spin and kick him in the shin (Low Kick). The sudden attack caused DJ to stumble and fall face first into the ground. He quickly got to his feet and tried again, only for the same thing to occur. He tried this tactic two more times before Elekid punched him in the gut with a thunder punch, causing DJ to fall to his knees with the wind knocked out of him. Before he could get up Elekid kicked him in the ribs with another low kick, causing DJ to fall to the ground again.

"Did you really think that the same trick would work on me a second time?" asked Elekid amusingly.

DJ shakily climbed to his feet and tried to use force palm on Elekid, but Elekid simply smacked his paw away and grabbed DJ by the throat.

"I admit." said Elekid. "You're strong kid, but you have no idea how to use your power. To bad too. You could have been a good explorer. Now die." As soon as he said that Elekid sent electricity through the hand that held DJ.

As soon as the electricity reached DJ he screamed in pain. He tried to pry Elekid's fingers off his throat, but Elekid's grip held firm. He could here Katara and Jackson screaming his name, but he couldn't focus on them due to the pain. Elekid continued to electrocute him for what felt like hours until DJ's body went limp.

"Pathetic." said Elekid as he tossed DJ's body into the pond.

As DJ sank into the pond he attempted to move his body, but found that he couldn't.

'I can't move.' thought DJ. 'I guess.. this is how it ends. Sorry Katara, Jackson. I failed.' With that last thought, DJ's world faded to black.

DJ awoke to darkness. At first wondered why it was so dark, but he then realized that his eyes were closed. He wondered why his eyes were closed before he remembered what happened. He tried to move his arms, but found them to be numb.

'Am I dead?' thought DJ. 'That's weird I don't feel dead. Then again I don't know what being dead feels like.' Then all of a sudden he heard the sound of crying and he immediately felt a wave of sadness. 'Who's that? Why are the sad?' Then the crying voice said his name, he immediately recognized the voice. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was still at Diamond Pond. He turned his head slightly and saw Jackson standing over an unconscious Elekid. He turned his head and saw Katara crying over him. "Katara?"

Her eyes shot towards DJ and she gasped seeing his eyes open. "DJ! You're alright!" she said as she crushed him with a hug, causing DJ to lightly blush. She then pushed him away and smacked him across the face before speaking angrily. "Do you realized how worried I- I mean we were?! We thought you were dead!" She then hugged him again.

"Ahem." coughed Jackson, who was watching the two with an amused look on his face. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." This statement caused Katara blushed and pushed off of DJ.

DJ rose to a sitting position, wincing a little. "What happened?"

Katara looked at him with a concerned look. "After Elekid threw you into the pond Jackson jumped in and knocked him out and I jumped into the pond and pulled you out. Jackson called Officer Magnezone, but when you didn't wake up and we thought..." she trailed off.

DJ looked down dejectedly. "So we failed."

"Don't let that get you down." said Jackson. "Every explorer fails at least one mission, and besides, you technically didn't fail. Elekid has been captured."

"R-right." responded DJ, still depressed. Feeling DJ's sadness, Katara got a Cheri berry from the pack and gave it to DJ, which DJ accepted. "Come on now. You did better than I did. I got hit once and I was out, while you hit him multiple times."

DJ gave her a small smile and ate the berry, gaining some more feeling in his body. The trio waited in silence until a strange UFO shaped Pokemon with three eyes, one of which was red, and a yellow antenna (Magnezone) descended in front of them.

"Hello." said the Magnezone. "I am Officer Magnezone, pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for knocking out Elekid. I shall now take him away. Thank you again for your service." With that took Elekid and flew off.

"OK." said Jackson. "Let's head back."

"You FAILED?!" shouted Asura when the trio got back and gave their report.

"Calm down Asura." said Grace, who was present along with the rest of the team. "Everyone fails at least one mission. And besides Elekid was captured."

"That's besides the point!" said Asura, turning towards DJ. "What you did was simply foolish. If a tactic does not work you try another one. You don't KEEP doing it. What you did almost cost you and your teammates your lives!"

"But-" said DJ in an attempt to defend himself, but was cut off by Asura.

"But NOTHING! You should have known better!"

DJ looked down in shame, holding back tears of anger and shame. Seeing this Asura continued. "You are a disgrace to the team. You should just go back to where you came from, you miserable human."

After this comment was said, it was dead quiet. Everyone in the room looked at Asura in shock. Then the whole room was filled with an aura of sadness and despair, and before anyone could stop him, DJ ran out of the room and out of the guild home.

"ASURA!" cried Grace, shocked at his words. "How could you say that?! He made one mistake! You had no right to take it that far!"

Asura just shrugged. "If he can't even take out a low-class outlaw like Elekid he has no place on my team."

"Dude. He's new." said Blitz. "It was a rookie mistake. You didn't have to take it that far!"

"For once I agree with Blitz." said Bertha with a stern look on her face (not that you could tell with the skull on her face.) "You crossed the line with that comment."

"He needs to learn how things work around here." said Asura indifferently. "And if he can't take a little criticism then he should quit now."

"That wasn't criticism!" yelled Katara, furious at the comments directed at DJ. "That's just an excuse to bully him." With that she headed out the door, but she stopped at the doorway and turned around. "You should be ashamed of yourself." With those final words, she left in search of DJ.

Slowly the rest of the members of Team Stardust left until it was just Grace and Asura. She gave Asura a look of disgust before speaking. "Jet would be ashamed of you." She then left, leaving Asura to his thoughts.

In the forests, about a mile away from Miracle Town, DJ sat in a tree branch silently fuming.

'That bastard!' thought DJ. 'It's not fair. I didn't know how to fight an outlaw, I've only fought wild Pokemon! How was I supposed to know what would happen?!' He then looked at his paws, slowly sinking into depression. 'I never asked for this. I never asked to be a Pokemon. Why? Why did this happen to me?!' he thought burying his face into his paws, crying silently.

"What seems to be the matter little pup?" asked a voice to the left of DJ.

The voice caught DJ off guard and caused him to fall out of the tree and hit the ground head first.

"Oww." moaned DJ as he held his head in pain.

"Sorry." said the voice. "I did not mean to startle you."

DJ looked up at the speaker and saw a Pokemon that looked similar to him. It was blue like him and it had a 'mask' like him, but it was also about three times his height, its ears were longer and more pointed, it had for strange teardrop shaped extensions coming out of the back of its head, its paws and chest had what looked like metal spikes sticking out, and its fur on its chest was a pale yellow color that made it look like it was wearing a shirt. DJ gasped as he realized he was looking at a full grown Lucario.

"Are you all right?" asked the Lucario. DJ could tell by his voice that the Lucario in front of him was fairly old. When he looked closer, DJ could also see that the Lucario's fur had a little gray in it.

"I-I'm fine." said DJ, as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "It wasn't that far of a fall."

"I wasn't talking about the fall." said the Lucario. "You were giving off a very strong aura of sadness. Might I inquire what upset you?"

DJ looked down in sadness, pulling his knees to his chest. "It's nothing really."

"It's obviously not nothing if it caused you such great sadness. Please tell me what upset you. I find that when you talk to others about your problems it helps immensely."

DJ looked up into the Lucario's eyes and saw nothing but kindness in them. DJ sighed before speaking. "It's just that... I'm just so weak. I don't know how to fight properly, I don't know how to control my emotions, I don't know how to stop the emotions of others from affecting me, and I can't seem to do anything right." As he said this tears slowly began to fall from DJ's eyes. "I just feel like a burden to my team. Maybe I should just leave."

The Lucario was silent for a long time before speaking. "Do you really think running away will help?" Seeing DJ's confused look he continued. "You can't run away from your problems. You have to face them. And if you fall, you just have to get back up and try again."

DJ's eyes widened at these words. He looked down at his paws and began to digest the words that were spoken to him. 'He's right.' thought DJ. 'I can't let one failure bring me down. I have to keep trying, no matter what Asura says!'

As DJ looked up, the Lucario could see pure determination in his eyes. When he saw this he smiled. "I see you've got you're fire back."

DJ looked at the Lucario and smiled. "Thank you mister. You were right I feel a lot better now!"

"That's good to here little pup." said the Lucario with a chuckle. "I'm glad I could help. Speaking of help, do you happen to know where I can find Miracle Town? I am supposed to meet a friend there."

"Yeah, I know where it is." said DJ enthusiastically. "I can take you there if you want."

"Splendid. Let us go then." With that, the duo left towards Miracle town.

"Hey mister?" asked DJ as they made there way into Miracle Town. "Where are you supposed to meet you friend?"

"At Gallade's Guild." said the Lucario. "You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

"Yeah. I'm actually a member! It's straight down this way. Follow me."

The duo walked the remainder of the way to the guild I silence until they came upon the bridge that lead to the entrance of the guild.

"I must thank you pup." said the Lucario. "It has been awhile since I was here last, and I would have gotten lost without you."

"No problem." said DJ, a little annoyed at being called pup by another Pokemon. "And my name's DJ, not pup."

Lucario turned to him with a surprised expression on his face. "_You're_ DJ?"

"Yeah..." said DJ uncertainly. "Do you know me or something?"

Before the Lucario could respond a voice came from the guild.

"Alistair!"

Both DJ and the newly dubbed Alistair turned and saw the guild master walking out of the guild. Alistair smiled before shouting. "Tobias! It has been far to long my friend!"

"I have most people call me Guild Master or Gallade." said the guild master with mock irritation before smiling. "But for you, I'll make an exception."

The two Pokemon approached each other and shook hands then began making small talk.

DJ just stood there with his mouth open. 'The Guild Master Gallade's name is Tobias? Huh. Didn't see that coming.'

Tobias then noticed DJ standing there. "DJ? What are you doing here?"

"He was showing me the way here." answered Alistair. "I take it that he's the human that you mentioned in your letter."

"Yes." said Tobias getting serious. "You see the reason I asked you here is because I want you to train him."

"What?" asked DJ in shock.

Tobias turned to DJ and smiled. "You said it yourself. I don't know how to act like a Riolu and who better to teach you than someone who's been a Riolu? "So," said Tobias, turning to Alistair. "Will you do it?"

"I would love to." said Alistair with a smile.

"Yahoo!" shouted DJ as he jumped for joy, his tail wagging furiously. He then stopped and blushed at his actions. "Hehe... Sorry."

The two elder Pokemon simply laughed at the young Riolu/human's actions. "It is no problem." said Alistair, still chuckling. "Now we will begin your training tomorrow after you get done with your missions. Meet me at the training ground north of here."

"OK!" said DJ with enthusiasm. He then thought for a moment. "Umm... should I call you Master or something?"

"You can call me whatever you like pup." said Alistair, chuckling slightly.

"OK then." said DJ. He thought for a moment before grinning. "I'll call you Gramps!"

Both Tobias and Alistair sweat-dropped at the name, but before either of them could say anything, a voice cried out from across the bridge.

"DJ!"

They all turned around and saw Katara running up to them.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" she shouted with an annoyed tone. "Where have you been?!"

"Sorry." said DJ sheepishly. "I just needed time to clear my head."

"Well anyway." said Katara, still a little miffed. "You should head back to the guild house. Everyone was worried."

"OK." said DJ cheerfully. He and Katara began to walk across the bridge before he turned and waved. "See you tomorrow Gramps!" With that he and Katara left.

When DJ and Katara were gone, Tobias turned to Alistair, suddenly serious. "So, what do you think of him?"

"He seems alright." said Alistair with an equally serious tone. "He seems a lot kinder and more caring that he was. Though only time will tell if he turns out like him."

"Let us pray that that doesn't happen. Because if he does turn out like him, no one will be safe.

**Author's Notes:**

Hey it's AuraFighter23. Just wanted to apologize for any grammar mistakes. Also I appreciate all of you comments and suggestions. I will try to take them all into account as I right future chapters. I also wanted to say that the majority of my characters are based off of people that I know personally, except for Blade. I based him off of Kid from Soul Eater (which I do not own). Thank you for your continued support. AuraFighter23 out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 7: Training**

"So you start training with Alistair today right?" asked Blitz.

"Yep. Right after today's mission." replied DJ. After he returned to the guild house the night prior, DJ had told all of them that he would be receiving training from Alistair starting today. He was so excited that, do to his inability to keep his emotions from others, everyone else (minus Asura) couldn't help but feel excited as well. "I wonder what he'll teach me."

"Hopefully something that will keep you from utterly failing again." said Asura coldly. This statement caused DJ to look down, ashamed and caused the rest of Team Stardust to glare at their leader. Seeing the glares, Asura wisely changed the subject. "Anyway. Here are the assignments for today. I expect them all to be completed. And my father wanted me to tell DJ that you'll meet with Alistair at the practice fields." With that he handed out the missions and left.

"Don't worry DJ." said Grace in an attempt to cheer up the depressed Riolu. "Sooner or later he'll forget about what happened."

DJ gave her a small smile in appreciation. "Thanks Grace." He then turned to Jackson and Katara. "Let's go! The sooner we get this mission done, the faster I can train." With that the trio left.

A half hour later, DJ, Katara, and Jackson were making there way down a path through the forest. The trio walked in silence as they came out of the forest and entered a field. As they walked across the field they came across a fence that surrounded the majority of the field. In the enclosed area there were hundreds pink cow-like Pokemon that had black fur surrounding there heads, making it look like they were wearing hoods (Miltank). In the center of the enclosure there was a big red and blue barn.

"Umm..." said DJ, with a confused look on his face. "This doesn't look like a dungeon."

"That's because it's not." said Jackson. "Not every mission we do requires us to go through a dungeon. Today we're assisting Farmer Quake with a _pest _problem."

"Pest problem?" asked Katara. "What do you mean by that?"

Before Jackson could answer, there was a booming voice came from inside the enclosure. "Howdy!"

The trio turned around and saw a giant gray dinosaur looking Pokemon with a cream colored drill/horn on its nose and intense red eyes (Rhydon). The Rhydon approached the gate and smiled. "I take it y'all are the team sent to help lil' old me?"

'Little?' thought the trio.

"Yes sir." said Jackson. "We're members of Team Stardust. Are you Farmer Quake?"

"Yes siree!" said Farmer Quake with an upbeat voice as he unlocked the gate and ushered the three inside. "Good to see y'all here to help me with my _pest_ problem."

"What kind of pest are you talking about?" asked Katara.

"The Mightyena kind." said Quake with a solemn look on his face.

"M-M-Mightyena?" asked Katara with a hint of fear.

"Yep." replied Quake. "Those varmints always come by here around this time a month to try to attack my Miltank herd."

"Might I ask sir, why do you have so many wild Pokemon here?" asked DJ. "Aren't they dangerous."

"Well you see lil' pup (a tick mark appeared on DJ's forehead) I bred these Miltank so they are almost completely loyal. Though they do sometimes fight, but nothing I can't handle.

Almost as soon as he said this, an angry moo came from their left. They turned around to see a Miltank rolling at them at high speeds (Rollout). Jackson, Katara, and DJ tensed, but Quake merely chuckled. As soon as the rolling Miltank was upon them, Quake crouched down and caught the Miltank and threw it in the air. The Miltank landed with a thud and gave a weak moo. The members of Team Stardust were shocked, but Quake simply smiled and knelt down next to the Miltank before he patted it on the head.

"Nice try Bessie, but you have to be quicker than that to catch me off guard."

The Miltank gave an indignant moo causing Quake to laugh. He then got up and turned to Team Stardust.

"As I was saying,I use them to produce milk and beef, which I sell to Miracle Town. Anyway, y'all's job is to help me fight off them Mightyena." Seeing Katara's slightly fearful look he spoke again. "Don't worry though. Them Mightyena are pretty weak."

Katara sighed in relief. "OK then let's get started."

Four hours later

"I can't thank y'all enough for helping me." said Quake. "I'll send y'all's reward to the guild.

"Thank you sir." said a winded Jackson. Throughout the four hours five Mightyena had attacked, but they were all stopped before they could get to the Miltank.

"All make sure to call y'all if I ever need help with those varmints." said Quake as Team Stardust waved goodbye and started down the path to Miracle Town (AN: I didn't describe the Mightyena attack because this chapter is supposed to focus around DJ's training. The farm was just a filler, but will play a part in future events.).

Forty-five minutes later, the three members of Team Stardust. Having just received their reward for the mission, make their way out of the guild.

"Well I'm heading off to meet Gramps." said DJ enthusiastically.

"You mind I tag along?" asked Jackson. "I'm curious of how Alistair plans on training you."

"Sure." responded DJ with a shrug as they made their way to the practice fields.

"Hey! I want to come too!" shouted Katara as she ran after Jackson and DJ.

Once they had made it to the practice fields, they saw that there were several other Pokemon there training. Several Pokemon gave the trio curious looks, but went back to their training. The trio looked around until the spotted Alistair meditating off to the side. As they made their way over to Alistair, he looked up and smiled at them.

"Ah, DJ. Good to see you. Who are these two?"

"This is Katara and Jackson. They're also part of Team Stardust and they wanted to watch us train. Is that OK?"

"I see no problem with that." said Alistair as he stood up. "Now, for your training..."

"Are you gonna teach me how to shoot energy from my mouth?!" asked DJ as he bounced on his feet with anticipation. "Or how to move things with my mind?! Or-"

"Now now." said Alistair as he placed a hand on DJ's shoulder in order to calm him down. "Before I teach anything like that, we're going to work on keeping your emotions from others."

DJ looked down in sight disappointment, but quickly regained his determined attitude. "OK. Let's do it!"

Alistair smiled at DJ's determination. "Good now, first, close your eyes." Once DJ had done this, Alistair continued. "Now take a deep breathe and clear your mind." DJ took a deep breathe and visibly calmed down. "No I want you to imagine your emotions as physical objects. One you have done this, imagine taking those objects and putting them away in a box." DJ did this, thankful that he has a vivid imagination, but didn't feel any different.

"Did it work?" asked DJ with his eyes still closed.

"One way to find out." said Alistair with a mischievous smirk. He then presided to hit DJ on the top of his head.

"OWWW!" shouted DJ angrily (Considering a Lucario's bones are made out of metal, hit hurt quite a bit). "What was that for Gramps?!"

Alistair gained an angry tick mark on his forehead. "Can't you call me anything else?"

"You said I could call you whatever I wanted." DJ said cheekily.

Alistair simply sighed in defeat. "Anyway I hit you to see if we could feel your emotions." He then turned to Jackson and Katara. "Did either of you feel his emotions?"

"I didn't." said Jackson.

"That's weird." said Katara. "I still did, but it was more, for lack of a better word, subtle than before."

"Hmm." said Alistair. "That is strange. I personally didn't feel his emotions. I find it strange that you still did. Unless..."

Alistair gained a pensive look and didn't continue until DJ spoke up. "Unless what?"

Alistair snapped out of his musings and chuckled. "Sorry about that. Anyway, the only reason that I can think of why Katara can still feel your emotions is that you bonded with her."

"Come again?" asked DJ with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean by 'bonded'?" asked an equally confused Katara.

"You see," began Alistair. "When a Riolu is born it will bond to the first Pokemon it sees. What bonding does is, as the name entails, bonds the two Pokemon making it impossible for the Riolu to hid its emotions from the other Pokemon. This trait was developed as a way for the Riolu's parent to always know if something is wrong with their child. Since DJ was transformed into a Pokemon, he was 'technically' re-born, and because Katara was the first Pokemon DJ saw he bonded with her."

"I guess that makes since..." said Jackson.

DJ and Katara just looked at each other, not saying anything. Seeing their uncomfortableness, Alistair spoke.

"Anyway, back to training." This statement quickly grabbed DJ's attention and he looked at Alistair eagerly. "Now I'm going to teach you how to block out the emotions of others. Now close your eyes and imagine a a barrier that surrounds your mind. Blocking off all outside emotions."

DJ did as instructed and almost instantly, he stopped feeling outside emotions. Except for the emotions of one other person.

"That's weird." said DJ. "I can still feel Katara's emotions."

"Oh." said Alistair. "I forgot to mention that the bonding process works both ways. Meaning that you can't block out Katara's emotions. This trait was developed so that the parent of the Riolu, usually a Lucario could 'guilt' a Riolu into behaving. You see because Riolu are sensitive to emotions, they hate seeing others in mental pain. Because of this, whenever the Riolu is disobedient, the parent would 'be sad' causing the Riolu to immediately feel guilty and therefore cause the Riolu to listen. However, because of this if the Riolu sees something hurting their parent/bonded Pokemon being hurt physically or mentally, the Riolu will stop at nothing to 'remove' whatever is causing their parent/bonded Pokemon's pain, even with the cost of the Riolu's own life. That's why the bonded Pokemon is normally the parent Lucario, so the Lucario can block their emotions from the Riolu. But because Katara isn't a Lucario she can't block her emotions, so DJ will always feel her emotions."

Everyone was silent, letting what they had just heard sink in. After two minutes of silence, Katara spoke.

"Well I guess why that's why you were so 'open' with me when we first met."

"I-I guess so." said DJ sheepishly.

There was another minute of silence, until Alistair spoke again.

"Well know that that's out of the way, let's get back to your training. Now DJ. I want you to close your eyes and try to only focus on my emotions, while blocking out the emotions of others."

DJ nodded and tried to only focus on Alistair. At first he only felt Katara's emotions, but then he felt emotions that weren't her's. He focused more and soon he felt Alistair's calmness

"I did it." exclaimed an excited DJ.

"Really?" asked Alistair in a slightly surprised tone. "Then how do I feel?"

"You feel calm." replied DJ, closing his eyes in order to focus better. "Wait there's something else. I also feel... sadness?"

Alistair was shocked. 'Normally it takes a Riolu several days to be able to only focus on one Pokemon's emotions yet he managed to do it in less than a minute! And on top of that, he was able to see so the sadness that I thought I hid so well. He's just like him...' He then saw that DJ was looking at him strangely. 'Shit! I've been silent to long! Gotta say something.' "Impressive DJ. Not many Riolu are able to do that in such a short period of time."

"Really? Awesome!" exclaimed DJ in happiness, instantly forgetting about the sadness he felt from Alistair a moment ago.

"Well, since you got that down rather quickly we can move on to the next part of your training."

"Cool!" said DJ, tail wagging in excitement.

"Now." began Alistair taking a fighting stance. "I want you to try to hit me."

"W-what?" asked DJ.

"You heard me. Try to hit me. No moves, just fighting. I want to see what I have to work with."

"O-OK then." said DJ taking a stance, before attacking Alistair.

DJ lunged at Alistair only for Alistair to sidestep out of the way. DJ turned on the spot and lunged at him again, but Alistair sidestepped and stuck his foot out, causing DJ to fall flat on his face.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got." said Alistair in a mocking tone.

DJ quickly got to his feet and sent a punch towards Alistair's stomach. Alistair merely grabbed DJ's paw and tossed him over his shoulder. DJ landed on his back hard causing the wind to be knocked out of him. He slowly got to his feet and resumed his attack. DJ launched punch after punch at Alistair, but none of his attacks connected.

"Come on." said Alistair. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

DJ was becoming increasingly infuriated as he continued his assault, but no matter how many times he punched or kicked Alistair would either dodge or block his attacks. 'I can't even land a single hit on him! Damn!'

Katara and Jackson watched the fight with wide eyes. "Amazing." said Katara. "DJ can't even land a single hit on him!"

"I know." said Jackson. "And DJ's tiring out while Alistair hasn't even broken a sweat. At this rate, Alistair will when without ever hitting back."

True to Jackson's words, a few minutes later DJ's attacks began to slow as he gradually began to tire.

"OK, that's enough." said Alistair. "I've seen all I need to see, for the moment."

DJ instantly collapsed on his back, breathing heavily. Alistair simply sat down cross-legged in front of the exhausted Riolu.

"Now why do you think you couldn't hit me?" asked Alistair.

"You were to fast." replied DJ, still trying to catch his breathe. "You were just to strong for me."

"Wrong!" said Alistair, gaining a surprised look from DJ. "You lost because you weren't fighting like a Pokemon."

"What do you mean by that?" asked DJ.

"I mean just what I said." replied Alistair, crossing his arms. "You mindlessly throw attack after attack, making your moves easy to predict. A Pokemon either would switch up their attacks in order to confuse their opponent or counter. Just because a Pokemon is stronger than you, that does not necessarily you'll lose. You must strategize as fight in order to gain the upper hand for it is said that even a small Weedle can defeat a full-grown Dragonite if it has the right strategy. Every Pokemon is born with the innate ability to adapt and strategize in battle. Not only that you are not using your full abilities. Riolu are naturally nimble and light on their feet. You must use this to your advantage in order to gain the advantage in a fight. You have to stop thinking like a human and start thinking like a Pokemon. Now," said Alistair as he stood. "Attack me again."

DJ nodded and got to his feet and faced Alistair. Neither Pokemon moved, they simply observed each other. DJ took a deep breathe and charged. Alistair made to sidestep, but DJ saw this and changed his directory in order to intercept Alistair. DJ threw a punch at Alistair, but Alistair batted it away. DJ launched a kick at Alistair's mid-section, only for it to be caught by Alistair's. Alistair then threw DJ to the side, but DJ pivoted in mid-air and landed on his feet. As soon as DJ touched the ground he launched at Alistair, surprising him as he defended against the little Riolu's assault. It seemed that almost every counter that he made was in turn countered by DJ.

'Amazing.' thought Alistair. 'He appears to have a firm understanding of how to strategize in battle. Well then. Let's kick things up a notch.'

Alistair then sent out a punch towards DJ's head. DJ was surprised at the sudden attack, as Alistair had not attempted to hit him through the whole spar, and barely dodged the attack. Alistair then threw another punch at DJ, but DJ managed to block the punch. Alistair kept on attacking, sometimes punching or kicking from various angles, causing DJ to slowly back up. DJ was slowly becoming overwhelmed by Alistair's attacks. Alistair attempted to kick DJ with a round house kick, forcing DJ to lean back in order to dodge. DJ then tried to sweep Alistair's leg out from under him, only for Alistair leap into the air and attempt an ax kick on DJ. DJ jumped backwards, but as Alistair landed he launched at DJ, using the momentum from the fall to increase his speed. DJ attempted to block, but he was to slow and Alistair punched him right in the gut. DJ clutched his stomach as he jumped back again in order to avoid another punch from Alistair.

"W-wait a minute." said DJ trying to get over the hit.

"An enemy won't give you a minute in the middle of a battle." said Alistair as he continued his assault.

DJ was know on the complete defensive as he tried to dodge and block Alistair's attacks. After a few more minutes of this one-sided battle, Alistair finally said enough. DJ collapsed in a heap, covered in bruises and gasping for air.

"You did a good job." said Alistair, not even breathing hard from the spar. "You clearly understand the strategizing aspect of fighting. We just need to work on your speed and strength so that you can effectively dodge and block an enemies attacks."

"Can't you just teach me some powerful move, so that I don't have to worry about that stuff?" asked DJ, still gasping for air.

"What good is a powerful move without the strength to utilize it?" asked Alistair sagely. "No, first we work on your speed and strength, then I will teach you some moves. Here." said Alistair as he handed DJ an Oran berry. "This shall restore your strength. Once you have finished it we shall continue."

"What?!" cried DJ, choking on the berry. "We're not done?!"

"Of course not." said Alistair with a small chuckle. "It's only been about forty-five minutes. Now I want you to run around Miracle Town twice and then do one hundred push-ups and sit-ups."

DJ gaped at Alistair. "I-I can't do all that!"

"Yes you can." said Alistair. "Remember you're a Pokemon and a Fighting type Pokemon at that. You have more endurance than you used to. Now get running."

"Slave-driver." DJ muttered under his breathe.

"What was that?" asked Alistair, holding his ear as if he didn't hear him. "You want to run three laps?"

"No sir!" shouted DJ as he ran off before Alistair could assign more laps.

"Damn." said Katara. "Alistair is worse than a drill sergeant."

"I know." said Jackson. "I'm glad we don't have to do that."

"What was that?" asked Alistair, holding his ear again. "You want to run too?"

"Nope!" shouted Katara and Jackson before they ran off.

"Hehe, kids." chuckled Alistair as he sat down to meditate.

Later that evening, Grace was serving dinner, when she noticed that DJ was not there.

"Where's DJ?" asked Grace.

"I think he's still with Alistair." said Jackson.

"They've been training since we got back from our mission." said Katara.

"Well fighting types are notorious for training for hours without rest." said Blade as he arranged his food to that it was symmetrical.

"Still though..." said Grace with a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm sure he's fine." said Blitz.

They all then heard the door open and when they turned they saw DJ stumble into the room, looking ragged.

"Speak of Giratina (AN: hehe see what I did there?)." said Bertha as DJ walked in and sat down next to Katara. "DJ. We were just talking about you. How was training?"

"Brutal." responded DJ, leaning back in his chair. "Gramps had me doing push-up and various other exercises. Ugh. I'm going to be sore in the morning."

All of Team Stardust, minus Asura (who was acting indifferent to everything going on around him), laughed at this comment and began to eat. After he ate, DJ went to his room exhausted from training with Alistair and fell asleep, hoping that the training will make him stronger, so that he will no longer be a burden to the team.


	8. Chapter 8

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 8: Team Odd Squad**

(AN: This is a filler chapter that introduces a few more characters that will appear in later chapters.)

The next day:

"Ah DJ. Good to see you again." said Alistair as he saw DJ approaching. "Where are Jackson and Katara?"

"They went back to the guild house." said DJ. "They said something about insane drill sergeant Pokemon."

Alistair merely chuckled. "Well anyway, let's get to your training. Today we'll continue with your physical conditioning. First you'll run two laps around Miracle Town, then you will do one hundred push-up and sit-ups, and after that we will spar."

DJ mentally winced when Alistair mentioned sparring. He was still a little sore from yesterday's 'beating'. Though he had to admit, after just one day he felt stronger. DJ was about to begin his run when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey DJ!"

Both DJ and Alistair turned and saw Blitz approaching.

"Who might this be DJ?" asked Alistair.

"That's Blitz, he's also a member of Team Stardust."

Blitz reached the duo and grinned. "Hey guys what's up?"

"Nothing much." replied DJ with a smile. "I was just about to start training."

"Oh." said Blitz, turning his gaze towards Alistair. "So you're DJ's trainer."

"That's correct." said Alistair. "My name is Alistair. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. So how's the kid been doing?"

"Hey! Who you calling kid?!" said an irritated DJ. "We're like the same age."

"Yeah, but I'm more mature than you." replied Blitz with a hint of superiority in his voice.

"This coming from the one who constantly plays jokes on the rest of the team." said DJ with a sly grin.

"What was that rookie?!"

"You heard me Sparky!"

"_Anyway_." interrupted Alistair preventing a fight. "Though we've only had one day of training, DJ shows great potential and is doing exceptionally well."

"Good to hear." replied Blitz. "Hopefully now he can actually do things on his missions."

DJ growled at Blitz's comment. He knew he was joking, but it was still annoying. Seeing DJ's expression, Alistair quickly changed the subject before DJ attacked the Pikachu.

"So what brings you here?"

"Oh!" said Blitz. "I'm actually here to meet my brother and his team."

"Your brother?" asked DJ.

"Yeah." said Blitz. "He and his team went on a long mission that they got back from earlier today and he said that he would meet me here to hang out."

"Cool." replied DJ. "What he like?"

"Well he's a Raichu and he's calm most of the time. He's also, as his teammates say, 'sassy'. Oh, and he's part of Team Odd Squad."

"Team...Odd Squad?" asked DJ.

"Oh." said Alistair. "So you're Garfield's brother."

"Yeah." said Blitz. "Don't ask me how they came up with that name, but they're a diamond rank."

Alistair's eyes widened in shock, but DJ merely gave a confused look. "Diamond rank?"

"Yeah. Diamond rank." said Blitz. "You see, a team's rank is determined by how may missions a team has done and their difficulty. The ranks are normal, bronze, silver, gold, diamond, and master."

"So they finally made diamond rank. Good for them." said Alistair.

"Wow." said DJ in amazement. "What rank is our team?"

"Our team is bronze rank. That shows the power difference between our teams. There are only five teams at diamond rank and even fewer at master rank."

"Wow." repeated DJ. "They must be really strong."

"Yep. They're the best!" said Blitz happily.

"So, when are you supposed to meet them?" asked Alistair.

"He said he was going to meet me here at 3:15 (AN: There are clocks in this world.)"

Alistair looked at the sun before responding. "Judging by the position of the sun, I'd say it's about 3:15 now."

No sooner had he said this a group of Pokemon entered the training area. There were five Pokemon in total. The Pokemon towards the front was a giant bipedal Pokemon with cobalt blue skin, three-fingered hands, two protruding gills on its cheeks, two fins on the top of its head, and a big tail fin (Swampert). The Pokemon on its right was a mouse-like Pokemon, that looked like Blitz except it had yellow cheeks instead of red, a long thin tail with a lightning bolt at the end, orange fur, no fingers, and it was about three times Blitz's size (Raichu). The third Pokemon was flying over the group. It was completely white with an oval shaped body, it had two big triangular wings, two small feet, three spike on the back of it head (red-tipped on the right and blue-tipped on the left), and red and blue triangles on its stomach (Togekiss). The fourth Pokemon, on the Swampert's left side, was a golden-white fox Pokemon with nine long tails with orange tips (Ninetales). The final Pokemon, that brought up the rear, was a gray-brown bipedal fox Pokemon with red surrounding its eyes and mouth, a large red and black mane, that resembled a ponytail, with a light blue bead holding it together, black ruff on its upper body, and three red claws on its hands and feet (Zoroark). The group was looking in all directions, as if looking for something or someone. Seeing the group, Blitz broke out in a grin.

"Bro!"

Hearing this, the Raichu turned in the direction of the voice. When the Raichu saw Blitz he smiled and waved at him. The Raichu then said something to the other Pokemon and they all made there way towards Blitz, DJ, and Alistair. Blitz ran up and met the group half-way, jumped into he Raichu's arms, and hugged him.

"Big Bro! It's been so long!" said Blitz.

The Raichu sighed in exasperation. "Blitz. It's only been four days."

"That's a long time for me!"

The Raichu sighed again. He then took notice of Alistair.

"Alistair. Good to see you again. It has been awhile."

"Yes it has Garfield." said Alistair. "And congratulations on making diamond rank."

"Thanks." said Garfield. He then noticed DJ. "Who's the pup? He's not you're kid is he?"

"Why does everyone keep calling me a pup?!" asked an exasperated DJ.

"You're called that because that's what young Riolu are called." said Alistair with a shrug.

"I'm not that young." mumbled DJ, crossing his arms.

"You are in Pokemon terms." replied Alistair. "Anyway, no, he's not mine. He recently joned your brother's team. He's also a human."

"Really?" asked the Zoroark. She then stepped closer to DJ and crouched down to DJ's level, giving him an intense look that sightly unnerved DJ. She then grabbed his aura sensors (the black things on the side to his head) and raised them up and down. "He doesn't look like a human."

Alistair chuckled at the Zoroark's actions. "He _used_ to be a human Katerina, but he was turned into a Pokemon. He also lost his memories of when he was a human."

"Oh you poor thing!" said Katerina as she hugged the Riolu, practically squeezing him to death.

"He lost his memories?" asked the Swampert. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Well it's not the first time it's happened." said the Ninetales. "We've met a couple of formal humans too, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Kat, I think you're choking him."

The Zoroark looked at the Riolu she was holding and saw that he was turning 'bluer'. "Oops. Sorry." she said as she let go of DJ.

DJ fell on all fours, trying to catch his breath before he spoke. "You've met other humans?"

"Yeah." replied the Togekiss. "We've met two other formal humans. One is a member of Wigglytuff's guild and the other one is trying to build a paradise."

"Oh." said DJ.

"Anyway we're Team Odd Squad." said Garfield, who, was still holding Blitz. "As you heard, I'm Garfield, the Zoroark is Katerina, the Ninetales is Alex, the Togekiss is Davis, and the Swampert is our leader Kimberly."

"I'm DJ. Nice to meet you." said DJ with a smile.

"Oh he's so cute!" said Katerina as she crushed the poor Riolu with another hug.

"Don't mind her." said Davis with a sheepish look on his face. "She has a thing for 'cute' things."

"And you have a thing for being an idiot." said Alex jokingly.

"Why do you hate me?!" said Davis with a slightly whiny voice.

"Behave you two." said Garfield before he turned to his younger brother. "Why am I still holding you?"

"Because you love me." said Blitz with a cheeky grin. Garfield then dropped Blitz, causing Blitz to land on his tail. "OW! Bro!"

"Oops." said Garfield with a smirk. "I lost my grip."

"Liar!" shouted Blitz.

"Anyway, how have you been little bro."

"I've been good!" said Blitz, instantly forgetting his annoyance with his brother. "I've just been doing the same old thing."

"So you've been causing trouble?" asked Alex with a smirk on his face. Blitz just gave him a knowing smile causing Alex to laugh out loud. "HA! Nice."

"So how have you guys been?" asked Blitz.

"Oh you know us." said Davis, puffing out his chest proudly. "We've been kicking ass and taking names."

"You mean _we've_ been kicking ass." said Alex cheekily.

Davis turned to Alex and gave him a slight glare. "Alex. Shut-up."

"Why don't you make me?"

"Girls, you're both pretty." said Kimberly.

"HEY!" yelled Davis and Alex.

DJ, who was still being hugged to death, sweat-dropped at the arguing Pokemon in front of him. 'Now I see why they're called Odd Squad.' thought DJ. 'They seem nice though.'

Team Odd Squad's argument was broken up by a loud obnoxious voice.

"Hey! Team Oddballs!"

"Oh no." groaned Kimberly. "Not these guys again."

The group turned and saw a group of six Pokemon. The Pokemon in the front looked like a giant boulder with arms and legs (Golem). The second Pokemon had bluish-gray skin, four muscular arms, three ridges on its head, and legless black tights (Machamp). The third Pokemon was a 'portly' rabbit-like Pokemon with two massive ears with three-fingered fists at the end, gray fur, and a sash-like band, that was made of thick brown and yellow fur, around its middle (Diggersby). The fourth Pokemon, which was flying overhead, looked like a giant metal bird with red wings (Skarmory). The fifth Pokemon was completely purple, spiny ears, a long horn on its forehead, and a long tail (Nidoking). The final Pokemon's lower body was a black pumpkin. Its upper body light brown, that resembled the stem of the pumpkin, with pink hair came down in bangs and moved as if they were arms (Gourgeist).

The Pokemon in the group made their way towards Team Odd Squad, the two members of Team Stardust, and Alistair, leering at Team Odd Squad.

"Who are those guys?" asked DJ.

"They're Team Demolition." said Kimberly, with an irritated look on her face. "The Skarmory is Scar, the Diggersby is Jack, the Nidoking is Smash, the Golem is Rocky, and Gourgeist is Gozer, their leader. I'm not sure who the Machamp is, but their team has had it in for us ever since we stopped them for taking advantage of a client by trying to scam more money out of them.

DJ gasped. "They would actually do that to a client?"

"Unfortunately not every team from Gallade's Guild is 'honorable'." said Alex. "They're gold rank, but they act like they're master rank. We just ignore them."

The group turned their backs on Team Demolition, who had just reached the group.

"Well, well, well." said Gozer, in a ridiculously high-pitched voice. "What do we have here? A pathetic excuse for at team leader and her flunkies."

Kimberly didn't respond, but she did tense up slightly as she continued to talk with her team as if Team Demolition wasn't there.

"Hey!" cried Gozer. "I'm talking to you Fat-ass!"

Again Kimberly didn't respond, which further aggravated Gozer and her team.

"Hey!" shouted Rocky. "She's talking to you losers!"

This time Alex turned around with a look of shock on his face, as if he didn't realize that Team Demolition was there.

"Oh, Hi Pebbles!" shouted with a ridiculous voice Alex to Rocky, causing Team Odd Squad, Blitz, and DJ to laugh openly and Alistair to chuckle.

"My name is Rocky!" shouted an angry Rocky.

"Whatever you say Pebbles." said Alex, further angering the Golem. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"We came to embarrass your team." said Gozer smugly. She then noticed DJ and Blitz and smiled sinisterly. "What are you kids doing here with these losers? Why don't you come with us and we'll show you what a real team is like."

Katerina tightened her grip on DJ in slight anger and the rest of the team visibly tensed. Then Blitz spoke angrily.

"I wouldn't want to hangout with you or your team if you were the best team in the whole world! Besides my brother's team is ten times better than your team!"

Team Odd Squad gave Blitz an appreciative look while Team Demolition glared at him. "Who do you think you are you little brat?!" cried Gozer. "You really think that these worthless Pokemon are better than us? HA! Those fools couldn't beat a Bidoof!"

"Anyone of them can you or any other of your flunkies!" yelled Blitz.

"Oh really?" asked Gozer with a mischievous smile. "Care to make a little wager brat?"

"Yeah!" shouted Blitz.

"Blitz..." warned Garfield.

"If we can beat at least one of these loser team members you and that little pup over there have to join our team." said Gozer with a devious smile.

"Wait. How did I get involved in this?!" asked DJ.

"Fine!" said Blitz. "But, when my brother's team kicks your asses you have to admit that their team is better than yours and you have to buy DJ and me five hundred poke worth of candy from Armaldo's candy store!"

"Deal." said Gozer sinisterly as she shook Blitz's paw.

"What the hell Blitz?!" shouted DJ, trying to hit him, but couldn't do to being held by Katerina. "Why the hell would you make a bet like that?! We're already part of Team Stardust! And why would you only ask for candy?!"

"Have you ever had candy from Armaldo's store?! It's to die for!" said Blitz slightly drooling causing everyone to sweat-drop. "And besides. There's no way that they can beat Bro and his team."

Garfield sighed and hit is brother on his head. "That was reckless Blitz. And what's worse you got your friend involved."

"Sorry." said Blitz ashamedly. "I just couldn't stand them bad-mouthing your team."

Garfield sighed and put his paw on his brother's head. "It's alright. Just think before you act OK?"

"What a touching scene." said Gozer sarcastically. "Say your goodbyes now kiddies. Cause after today, you'll be part of Team Demolition."

"Over our dead bodies!" shouted Kimberly. She then turned to her team. "Let's show these punks why we're diamond rank!"

"YEAH!" shouted Team Odd Squad.

"Well if you fools are done being fools." said Gozer. "We'll fight in one-on-one fights. No Pokemon fights twice. Now which one of you losers is first?"

"I'll go first." said Davis.

Gozer then turned to Scar. "Scar, clip his wings."

"With pleasure." said Scar with a sinister look on his face as the two Pokemon took to the air.

The two circled each other in the air glaring at each other. Scar made the first move by charging Davis, wings glowing purple (Nightslash). Davis merely spun in the air dodging the attack. Scar attacked with nightslash again and again but Davis dodged each attack.

"Stop running and fight me!" yelled Scar.

"As you wish." said Davis with a devious smirk. He then dove at Scar with a white cloak of energy surrounding him (Sky Attack). Davis' attack nailed Scar and sent him straight to the ground. Even though the attack was not very effective, it still did considerable damage.

Scar attempted to get up, but Davis created an orb blue energy (Aura Sphere) and fired it at Scar. As soon as the attack made contact with Scar it exploded, creating a dust cloud that blocked Scar from view. When the smoke finally cleared, Scar's unconscious body could be seen.

'Wow.' thought DJ. 'He beat that Skarmory with only two moves. Incredible!'

"Dammit Scar!" shouted Gozer. She then turned to the Machamp. "Kane! Go!"

"I've got this one." said Alex confidently.

The Machamp, now identified as Kane, leered at Alex. "Hey, why don't you just give up. I'd hate to mess up your pretty face little lady."

The field was dead silent until... "I'M A FUCKING GUY YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKER!"

The fight/beat-down was even shorter than Davis' battle. Alex launched fire attack after fire attack at Kane who had no way of dodging. Whenever Kane would try to get in close to attack Alex would use psychic and send him flying. After about a minute of this, Kane finally collapsed.

"That's what you get asshole!" huffed Alex as he made his way back to his team.

"Remind me not to piss him off." said DJ.

"Ooo." said Katerina, finally setting down DJ. "I call next!"

Jack snorted. "I've got this bitch."

Katerina just looked at him and gave him a mischievous look that caused Team Odd Squad to back up.

"Uh,oh." said Kimberly. "He should not have said that."

"Tell me something." said Katerina with a sweet voice that sent chills down everyone's spine. "You can use dig right?"

"Yeah. So?" said Jack.

"Well then, you should no problem digging your way out of hell." said Katerina her smile widening.

Jack disregarded this statement and lunged at Katerina. Katerina just stood there and continued to smile. When he was about a yard away, Katerina's eyes flashed blue and then faded. Jack's ear glowed white as he slammed it down on Katerina (Hammer Arm). As soon as the attack made contact with Katerina she faded away, confusing everyone except Team Odd Squad.

"Where did she go." asked Jack.

Gozer recovered from her confusion first and spoke smugly. "Looks like she ran away. That means she loses."

"On the contrary." said Katerina's voice, which seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. "I'm still here, but he won't be."

"Wha-" began Jack, but was interrupted when the ground in front of him opened up. From the hole in the ground skeletal hands came out and grabbed Jack. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Katerina appeared before Jack and smiled sadistically. "Those hands are going to take you straight to hell. Tell Giratina I said hi." she said as he began to laugh maniacally.

"NO!" screamed Jack as the hands dragged him in the hole. "PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"Do you surrender?" asked Katerina, her smile never leaving her face.

"YES!" screamed Jack, tears in his eyes as he is pulled further into the hole. "I SURRENDER. JUST PLEASE LET ME GO!"

"OK then." said Katerina. Her eyes flashed blue and she disappeared and reappeared where she was at the start of the battle. The hole and hands disappeared, and Jack reappeared to where he was before the hands appeared, with a confused look on his face.

"What just happened?" asked DJ.

"That was Katerina's illusion ability." said Alistair. "Zoroark and Zorua have the ability to create illusions at will, though a Zoroark's illusions are stronger."

"Th-that's cheating!" shrieked Gozer.

"All's fair in love and war." said Katerina cheekily.

"You bitch!" shouted Jack as he charged Katerina with hammer arm.

"I'm getting really sick of you calling me that." said Katerina as her body became coated with crimson aura. As soon Jack was in striking distance Katerina slammed her arms on the ground and the crimson aura surrounding her expanded and hit Jack, causing him to go flying (Night Daze).

"That's it!" shouted Rocky. "It's my turn."

"I'll take Pebbles." said Garfield calmly.

"You're gonna regret that!" shouted Rocky as he began to roll and charge Garfield (Rollout).

Garfield jumped out of the way as Rocky barreled past him. Rocky swerved and charged Garfield again, only for the same thing to occur.

"How is he going to win?" asked DJ as he watched Garfield continue to dodge. "Doesn't he have a type disadvantage?"

"Don't worry about big bro." said Blitz confidently. "He's got this."

Garfield continued to dodge until he was backed up against a wall (AN: the practice field is basically a large field surrounding by four walls (It's basically a battle field from a gym in the anime)).

"No where left to run rat." said Rocky confidently as he charged Garfield. He then nailed Garfield, embedding him into the wall. He then backed up and rammed into him again and again until Garfield was completely embedded in the wall. "Pathetic." said Rocky smugly. "Looks like your brother and his friend joining our team."

Garfield raised his head and smiled weakly. "That's what you think." Then all of a sudden Garfield disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wha-" said Rocky before the ground under him broke open, revealing Garfield, who delivered a glowing white fist (Focus Punch) into Rocky's jaw. There was a small explosion and sent Rocky flying into the air. When he finally landed, unconscious.

"Impressive." said Alistair. "He used substitute then used dig so that Rocky would not notice. Then delivered a super effective attack on Rocky. Truly he is a genius."

"That's my big brother for you." said Blitz confidently.

"Ragh!" shouted Gozer in anger. "That's it! Smash! You're with me!"

"Hey two against one isn't fair!" shouted DJ.

"All's fair in love and war." said Gozer with a crazed smile on her face.

"No big deal." said Kimberly nonchalantly. "Let's just end this."

"Smash smash!" shouted Smash.

Kimberly gave him a withered look. "Do you always talk in third person?"

"What third person?" asked Smash causing everyone to sweat-drop.

"Enough talk!" shrieked Gozer. "Smash destroy her!"

Smash roared and charged Kimberly, his horn glowing with white energy (Megahorn). Kimberly sidestepped the attack and smiled. A light blue aura surrounded her and she grabbed Smash and threw him into a wall (Superpower). She was about to continue the attack, but she was forced to dodge a green sphere of energy launched from Gozer (Energy Ball). Smash recovered and launched hundreds of poison needles from his mouth at Kimberly (Poison Sting). Kimberly unleashed a torrent of water from her mouth to counteract the poison sting (Hydro Pump). The hydro pump not only blocked the poison sting, but also went through it and slammed into Smash, almost knocking him out. Kimberly dodged another energy ball and slammed her fists into the ground causing the ground to shake and deal damage to Smash and Gozer (Earthquake). Smash was knocked out but Gozer was still conscious. Gozer gave Kimberly a murderous look before sinking into the shadows (Phantom Force). Kimberly looked around for Gozer, but she didn't see Gozer appearing behind her.

"Take this you bitch!" yelled Gozer as she tried to strike Kimberly, only for Kimberly to turn and catch her 'fist'.

"You shouldn't shout when you're trying to sneak up on someone." said Kimberly.

"LET GO OF MY HAND YOU FAT PIECE OF TRASH!" screeched Gozer.

"Well fuck your shit." said Kimberly as she punched Gozer in the face with a light blue glowing fist (Ice Punch). The punch encased Gozer's face in ice, knocking her out. "Finally I was getting sick of her voice."

Everyone (not including Team Demolition) laughed except DJ, who was looking at Team Odd Squad in awe. 'They knocked out all of Team Demolition without even being hit. No wonder these guys are diamond rank.'

After a few minutes Team Demolition finally awoke.

"Well you lost." said Blitz smugly. "I believe you have something to say to my brothers team."

"Your team." said Team Demolition through clenched teeth. "Is better than ours."

"That what I thought." said Blitz smugly.

"We won't forget this!" shouted Gozer. "We'll be back and next time we'll-"

"Just have our candy by the end of the week." interrupted Blitz.

Team Demolition gave the group another hateful look before leaving the practice fields. Team Odd Squad then turned Blitz, DJ, and Alistair.

"Well now that that's over with, how about we all head to a restaurant, our treat." said Garfield.

"Awesome!" shouted Blitz as he jumped at his brother, causing them both to fall over.

"Dammit Blitz." said Garfield as he got up. "Stop doing that."

Blitz merely laughed as he got up and followed Team Odd Squad. DJ moved to follow them, but Alistair put a paw on his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going pup?" asked Alistair. "We still have training to do."

DJ just groaned.


	9. Chapter 9

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 9: Redemption**

It has been four days since DJ began his training with Alistair. Though it had been a short time, DJ has improved greatly. He still has not been taught any new moves yet, but Alistair said that he would teach him a move when he got back from today's mission. Speaking of which...

"You're sending us on an outlaw mission?" asked Jackson in astonishment.

"Yes." said Asura. "Unfortunately, it was the only mission that I was given that was a low enough rank for those two." He then turned to DJ and glared at him.

"I don't want a repeat of last time, so don't mess up or I will kick you off the team."

"What? You can't do that!" said Jackson in defense of DJ.

"I can and I will." said Asura coldly. "If he cannot complete the missions he is given then he has no business being part of the team. That goes for all of you." said Asura, looking at everyone that was present in the room. He then left without another word.

There was silence as everyone in the room was stunned at Asura's words. Everyone just stood there, not moving or talking, until DJ spoke.

"Well... Talk about pressure."

Everyone looked at DJ as if he was crazy.

"How are you not freaking out?!" asked Blitz. Ever since the Team Demolition incident, Blitz had become attached to the former human. He thought of him as another brother and he didn't want him to be kicked of the team. "Asura just threatened to kick you off of the team! Aren't you worried?!"

"No." said DJ simply. He then smiled at the group. "You forget. I've been training. I'm a lot stronger now."

"You've only been training for four days." said Grace, who was also worried about the former human.

"And in those four days I've gotten stronger." replied DJ confidently. When he saw the others about to protest he cut them off. "Look. Don't worry about me. You have missions to do as well, and Asura said that he would kick anyone who doesn't complete their missions off the team. Worrying about me will only put yourselves at risk. Trust me. I've got this."

The others wanted to argue, but they knew he was right. Worrying about him would only put them in danger during a mission. They all nodded grudgingly and left. Jackson, DJ, and Katara were about to leave as well, but Katara spoke up.

"Hey Jackson, we'll meet you at the crossroads. I want to talk to DJ about something.

Jackson just shrugged (or tried to considering he walked on all fours) and left. Katara then turned to DJ, suddenly serious.

"You don't have to lie to the team like that."

DJ gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the way you were acting all confident. You didn't have to act like you weren't scared."

"But I'm not scared." said DJ with a smile.

"Bull shit. I can feel your emotions, remember?"

DJ's smile faltered at this. He actually had forgotten that Katara could feel his emotions no matter what he did. He then looked away from Katara, not able to look her in the eyes.

"So what?"

"So what?!" yelled Katara. "You didn't have to act all brave in front of the team! You could have let us all know that you are scared!"

"What would that have accomplished?" asked DJ coldly.

"The other could have helped you! Screw what Asura said. Everyone would have been more than willing to help you!"

"NO!" shouted DJ, turning around to face Katara. "I don't want them to help me if it jeopardizes them in the process! Like I said before, worrying about me would only put you all at risk"

"But we're a team." said Katara softly. "We're supposed to look after each other, even at the cost of our lives."

"I know but..." said DJ, looking away again. "I-I don't want to be responsible for one of you getting kicked off the team because of me. You guys have been so accepting of me and I don't want to get you guys in trouble just for me. I'm not worth it."

Katara was shocked at DJ's words. She at first thought that DJ was acting this way due to his pride, but she know realized that he cared for the team more than he did himself. She was amazed that he was this selfless and that he held himself in such low regard.

"DJ..."

"Please." pleaded DJ. "Just... Just don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Come on, Jackson's waiting." He then turned ant left the room.

'DJ.' thought Katara as she watched DJ leave. She then sighed and followed DJ.

One hour later, DJ, Katara, and Jackson arrive outside a cave.

"Okay this is the place." said Jackson. "The outlaw that we're hunting was last seen entering this cave. While it may not be a dungeon we have keep our guard up because there is no telling when the outlaw will appear."

"Speaking of which, what kind of Pokemon are we after?" asked Katara.

"Let's see." said Jackson as he pulled out the paper. "We're hunting a...Kirlia." As he said this both Jackson and Katara looked at DJ, who visibly paled, in fear for him.

'Shit!' screamed DJ in his head. 'Of all the Pokemon in this world, it had to be a fucking psychic type! Arceus dammit!' Despite this, he put on a confident smile.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Katara, who could still feel DJ's emotions, felt how nervous he was and was about to speak up, but Jackson spoke first.

"Wait there's more. It says that this specific Kirlia is known for her hypnosis attack."

"Huh?" asked DJ. "What's so special about her hypnosis? All it does is put an enemy to sleep, right?"

"That's not completely true." said Jackson. "While hypnosis is mainly used in battle to put others to sleep, it also has the potential to control Pokemon."

"What?!" exclaimed Katara. "How is that possible?!"

"You see, while all psychic types have psychic powers there are some that have stronger minds than others. This allows them to force their will on other Pokemon. It says here that this Kirlia is one of those few psychic Pokemon. However, it also says that in order for her to use this ability on a sentient Pokemon (Non-wild Pokemon) she must break their will."

"Break there will?" asked DJ nervously.

"Yes. She is said to target Pokemon who feel weak and further berates them, thus breaking their will. Once their will is broken, she casts her hypnosis on them and forces them to commit crimes. So far she has captured three known Pokemon and forced them to steal money, food, and items."

"Well then." said DJ confidently, breaking the silence that occurred when Jackson finished speaking. "That's all the more reason to stop her."

"But-" said Katara, but was cut off by Jackson.

"No, he's right." said Jackson, looking at Katara. "We have to stop this Kirlia before she causes anymore damage." Seeing Katara's mutinous look, he then whispered to her. "I know you're worried about DJ, but he asked us to trust him. And teammates must have trust in each other. And besides, we'll be with him"

Katara looked at DJ, who was staring at the entrance to the cave with a pensive look, and reluctantly nodded.

"OK then." said Jackson. "Let's go."

The trio made their way through the cave system, which had so many twists and turns that it reminded the trio of a dungeon, battling any Pokemon they crossed (AN: Even though the cave I not a dungeon there are still wild Pokemon that live in the caves). They had been going for two hours until DJ suddenly stopped, causing Katara, who was walking behind him, to almost run into him.

"What's the big ide-" began Katara, but she stopped herself when she noticed DJ's behavior. He was looking around with a slightly fearful expression on his face. Almost as if he heard something. "DJ?"

Jackson turned to see what was going on and noticed DJ's behavior as well. "DJ? Are you OK?" asked Jackson waving his paw in DJ's face.

"Hellloooo."

This seemed to snap DJ out it, because his eyes focused on Jackson.

"W-what?"

"Dude are you OK? You were spacing out a moment ago." said Jackson in concern.

"Y-yeah, I'm OK." said DJ sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I was just thinking about something."

"OK, well let's continue." said Jackson as he turned and walked further into the cave system.

"Wait up!" said Katara as she followed Jackson.

DJ stood there for a moment longer before following his two teammates down the tunnel.

Another hour passed and DJ wasn't doing that good. Ever since he stopped earlier everything seemed to be going down hill for him. His pace had slowed considerably and he was breathing harder. Katara offered to carry the adventure pack, but he refused, saying he was fine. On top of that he was taking more hits from the wild Pokemon that attacked them. He wasn't dodging as fast as he was and his attacks became more and more sluggish. After a battle with a Zubat, a blue bat-like Pokemon that had two stem-like legs and no eyes, he finally fell two his knees.

"DJ!" shouted Katara as she rushed to his side. "Are you OK?!"

"I'm fine." gasped DJ, trying to catch his breath. He attempted to stand, but he collapsed again.

"You're not fine." said Jackson, as he shifted through the pack for an Oran berry (AN: DJ takes of the pack when fighting so that it does not impede his movements).

DJ tried to stand again only for Katara to push him back to the ground.

"Don't try to stand. You need to rest." said Katara her voice full of concern.

"But the mission..." said DJ, again trying to stand, only for Katara to push him down again. "We have to keep going."

"No, you won't be any use to us in your condition." aid Jackson as he walked over to the duo with an Oran berry. "Eat this."

DJ took the Oran berry, but did not eat it.

"You shouldn't waste this on me. It would only go to waste." said DJ in a dead tone.

"Don't say that!" said Katara. "Your part of the team and we need you in top form if we're going to fight Kirlia."

"What good would I be?" asked DJ in the same tone. "I can barely fight these wild Pokemon. How could I help against an outlaw." As he said these words tears started to form in his eyes.

"I'll just get in the way again. Just like last time."

"DJ..." said Katara.

"Don't." said DJ, tears spilling down his face. "You know I'm right. No matter how hard I try, all I do is hold the team back. I'm nothing but a burden. Asura is right. I don't belong on the team."

DJ was so depressed that his emotional barrier broke, allowing his depression to spread throughout the cave. Jackson felt his depression and tried to tell DJ that he was wrong and that he was not a burden, while Katara gave DJ a confused look. It was weird. She could feel the depression coming from the Riolu, but for some reason it did not feel right. Before she could think more about this, the trio heard laughing coming from behind them. The trio turned and saw a Pokemon that was predominately white with green legs, green hair with two red horns that resembled hairpins sticking out, and what looked like a white tutu.

"Kirlia." growled Jackson as he glared at the outlaw.

"Kukuku." chuckled Kirlia. "Another team come to apprehend me. What fun!"

"It won't be fun win we beat you." said Katara.

"Feel free to try." said Kirlia offhandedly. "You'll just fail like the others."

Kirlia then snapped her fingers and seven Pokemon descended from the ceiling and surrounded the trio. Four of the Pokemon were Pokemon that came from the cave, two Zubat and two Geodude, while the other three were not. One of those Pokemon was completely gray with bulging and three ridges on its head (Machop). The second Pokemon was a blue reptilian Pokemon with a yellow jaw and protruding teeth, two tiny arms, and three thick gray ridges on its head that looked like a helmet (Bagon). The final Pokemon was a quadruped with orange fur that had black stripes along its back legs, cream colored fur on its underbelly, tail, and muzzle, and a tuft of cream colored fur on its head (Growlithe). All of the Pokemon had glazed looks in their eyes (except the Zubat) which indicated that they were all under Kirlia's control.

"Damn." said Jackson through gritted teeth as he eyed the surrounding Pokemon. "They were waiting for us!"

"That's right." said Kirlia with a sadistic smirk. "I've been following your team since the moment you entered this cave, waiting for the perfect time to strike."

"Why are you doing this?!" shouted Katara, trying to buy time in order to think of a way out of this situation.

"Why?" asked Kirlia with a smirk. "Because I can."

"But why control sentient Pokemon?" asked Katara. "You can obviously control wild Pokemon easier than sentient Pokemon. So why go after sentient Pokemon?"

"Because wild Pokemon are to easy." said Kirlia with an almost bored look. "Their minds are weak and its child's play to take them over. Sentient Pokemon, however, offer more of a challenge and they are generally stronger." A crazed grin then appeared on Kirlia's face.

"Plus what's better than breaking a Pokemon's will?" she said with a demented laugh. "Making them admit that they are weak, makes me feel all warm inside!"

"You're sick." said Katara, clearly appalled.

"Whatever." said Kirlia, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I'm afraid I can't let ruin my plans, so I'm afraid this is where it ends for you."

She then turned to her minions. "Destroy them, but leave the Riolu to me."

The hypnotized Pokemon launched at Katara and Jackson without hesitation, the Zubat and Geodude going after Katara and the Growlithe, Bagon, and Machop going after Jackson, leaving DJ to defend against Kirlia.

'Shit.' though Jackson as he dodged a karate chop from the hypnotized Machop. 'She split us up and went for DJ, who has a type disadvantage. I have to hurry up and beat these guys so I can help him out.'

Jackson jumped over the Machop, who was trying to sweep Jackson's legs out from under him (Low Sweep) and created and orb of darkness from his mouth and launched it at the Machop (Shadow Ball). When the move hit the Machop it exploded, pushing it into the ground. The Growlithe then ran at Jackson as he was falling back to the ground and, with its mouth covered in flames (Fire Fang), bit Jackson's side. Jackson winced, but did not cry out as he tried shake off the Growlithe. He then noticed the Bagon was charging him head first (Headbutt). Seeing the attack, Jackson used psychic on the Bagon and threw it against the Growlithe, forcing it to let go. He then unleashed a wave of dark circles from his mouth at the two Pokemon (Dark Pulse), blasting them away. He then made to help DJ only to be blocked by the Machop. Jackson growled in annoyance and lunged at the Machop.

While Jackson was busy fighting the three sentient Pokemon Katara was facing the four wild ones. Though she was outnumbered, she had a type advantage against two of the Pokemon and the Zubat were relatively weak. Katara used pound on an approaching Zubat, sending it flying against a wall, and launched a bunch of bubbles at one of the Geodude. The other Zubat dive bombed Katara, its wings glowing, and tried to hit her with its wing (Wing Attack). Katara dodged the attack and launched a water pulse at the offending Pokemon, hitting it, but could not dodge the second Geodude's tackle. Katara was pushed back a few feet, but continued to stand. She then created another water pulse and launched it the Geodude, sending it crashing into the recovering Zubat.

While the others were holding their own against Kirlia's hypnotized Pokemon, DJ was not fairing well. DJ attempted to use force palm on Kirlia, but she dodged it gracefully.

"Come now." said Kirlia with a smirk. "That can't be all you have."

DJ launched force palm after force palm against Kirlia, but each time she would just dodge. As the fight continued, DJ's moves slowed and became sluggish. Seeing this Kirlia scoffed. Her whole body then turned red and puffed out white smoke. She then charged DJ and smacked him into a wall (Frustration). DJ attempted to stand, but he fell to his knee, breathing hard.

"You truly are pathetic." said Kirlia in a condescending tone. "I only hit you once and you're already down. You probably couldn't even beat a Caterpie " She then stepped closer to DJ, a sinister smile plastered on her face.

"I bet you're nothing but a burden to your team."

DJ looked up with wide eyes. "N-no! You're wrong!"

"Am I?" asked Kirlia, her smile never leaving her face. "I've watched you make your way through the cave, and I can tell your nothing more than a burden. Without out your little friends to help you you're nothing."

"Shut up!" shouted DJ clutching his head.

"You're nothing but a weakling who is constantly holding your team back!" shouted Kirlia.

Seeing what was happening, Katara attempted to help DJ, but was blocked by one of the Geodude.

"Don't listen to her!" shouted Katara as she struggled with the Geodude. "She's trying to get in your head!"

"I can feel your emotions." said Kirlia, ignoring Katara's yells. "You know I'm right. But I can make it all better."

DJ looked up with a hopeful expression on his face. Seeing this, Kirlia's smiled widened.

"All you have to do is admit that you;re weak and surrender to me." said Kirlia.

Hearing this Jackson frantically tried to get around his opponents.

"Don't listen!" shouted Jackson. "She's trying to break your will so she can control you!"

"Just admit it." said Kirlia. "You know I'm right. Just admit that your weak and give yourself to me."

"I-I-" stammered DJ. "I'm weak..."

Kirlia's smile grew at those words.

"Gotcha." she said as her eyes glowed an eery blue blue. "Now look into my eyes."

DJ looked into her glowing eyes and as he did his eyes began to glaze over.

"NO!" shouted Katara as launched one of the Geodude into the other Pokemon and lunged at Kirlia with pound.

Kirlia jumped back in order to avoid the attack and smiled.

"It's too late!" shouted Kirlia, with a crazed look in her eyes. "He belongs to me now."

"Liar!" shouted Katara as made to attack Kirlia again, but before she could hit her, DJ jumped in front of her and blocked the attack.

"Like I said." said Kirlia standing next to DJ. "He's mine now. Now, finish her my minion!"

DJ lifted a paw, as if about to hit Katara with force palm, and lunged at her. Because of their close proximity, Katara had no room to dodge so she braced her self for the hit, but as DJ's paw got closer, he spun around and slammed his paw against Kirlia.

"Wha-" said Kirlia before DJ released the energy from his paw and sent her flying into the wall.

"SIKE!" shouted DJ with a smirk on his face.

"W-what?" asked a bewildered Katara, looking at DJ. "B-b-but I thought you were under her control!"

"Nope!" said DJ happily. "It was all a trick I set up."

"Impossible!" shouted Kirlia as she slowly got up. "I could feel your emotions! You were broken!"

"Wrong." said DJ smugly. "You only felt what I wanted you to feel. You see two hours after we entered the cave I had an idea to attempt to feel for your emotions as a way to locate you. Imagine my surprise when I felt strong sense of greed following us."

"That's why you stopped walking that time." said Katara.

"Yep. Anyway I knew that you preyed on the weak willed so I thought, what better way to lure you out than a 'weak willed' Pokemon. So I hid my strength and acted depressed in order to lure you out. Then all I had to do was wait for the right moment to attack.

"B-but I felt your emotions!" shouted Kirlia. "You were depressed!"

"Like I said, you only felt what I wanted you to feel. You see my teacher taught me how too fake my emotions. This allows me to make my enemies think that I'm depressed or that I lost hope, thus leading them into a false since of security. Honestly you didn't think I was that weak did you?"

Kirlia clenched her teeth in anger at being tricked.

"Katara." said DJ. "Take care of the other Pokemon. I've got this."

"But-" began Katara, but cut herself off when she saw the look of confidence on DJ's face. "Fine, but be careful."

DJ nodded as Katara charged at the hypnotized wild Pokemon, that were starting to get up, while DJ faced off with Kirlia.

"Impudent little pup!" screeched Kirlia. "If I can't break you mentally I'll break you physically!" With that said, she charged DJ with frustration (the move).

DJ saw the attack and smirked. As Kirlia approached DJ stepped to the side, causing Kirlia to miss and crash into a wall. This further angered Kirlia as she turned and glared at the smirking Riolu. She then used frustration again and charged DJ. DJ side-stepped again, but this time used force palm on Kirlia as she passed. The attack, though not very effective, sent Kirlia skidding across the ground. As she got to her feet DJ rammed into her with quick attack. Kirlia hit the wall with a groan, while DJ just smirked.

"Is that really the best you can do?" asked DJ.

Kirlia growled and charged DJ with frustration again, only for the same thing to occur.

"Damn you!" shouted Kirlia. "How are you this strong?! You couldn't even touch me before!"

DJ gave her an odd look.

"What part of 'hiding my strength' didn't you understand?" asked DJ.

Kirlia growled and tried to use frustration again, but DJ slammed into Kirlia, with quick attack, before she could.

"Is that the only move you know?" asked DJ. When he didn't get a response he laughed. "Seriously?! It is. Oh that's rich! You call me weak, but without your slaves your nothing!"

"You forget." said Kirlia with a smirk. "I can still use hypnosis!" As she said this, her eyes glowed blue as she gazed into DJ's eyes.

Seeing this DJ smirked before closing his eyes.

"That technique only works if you can make eye contact." said DJ.

"But now you can't see my attacks!" shouted Kirlia as she charged DJ, only for DJ to dodge her and hit her with force palm. "How?!"

"Hello?" said DJ pointing to his ears. "I can still hear you."

Kirlia, blinded by rage, attacked again, but DJ kept dodging and countering with either force palm or quick attack. Though force palm was not very effective, the consecutive hits were beginning to take their toll.

"Man you really are weak." said DJ, opening his eyes. "You're part psychic and you don't even know any psychic moves except hypnosis. You have no chance of beating me."

"That's it!" yelled Kirlia. "You're dead!" She then completely disappeared, shocking DJ.

"Wha-" began DJ, but was interrupted by I hit from behind. When he turned around he saw nothing, further confusing him. He was then hit from the side, causing him to stumble. "What's going on?"

"Like that?" asked Kirlia appearing in front of him with a sneer. "This is my combination attack of teleport and frustration. No matter how good your senses are even you can't tell where I'll appear!"

DJ rushed forward, with quick attack, hoping to hit her before she teleported again, but right before he reached her, she disappeared again. DJ spun around wildly, searching for any sign of Kirlia. He was then hit from the side, but when he spun around he was hit from behind. DJ attempted to defend himself, but Kirlia just kept appearing and hitting him with frustration.

'Damn!' thought DJ. 'I can't keep this up. Maybe I can zero in on her emotions I can find her.'

DJ then closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on finding her emotions, but because of her teleporting her emotions felt like they were coming from everywhere at once, and the constant hits were not helping with his focus.

'Not working.' thought DJ as he endured another hit. 'Come on DJ, focus! You have to do this! You have to prove your not a burden!'

Then suddenly DJ could see everything, literally. He could see everything in a three sixty degree radius. On top of that everything around him was blue and slightly see threw, even the surrounding Pokemon, though they seemed to be glowing slightly. Before DJ could question this new sight, he saw Kirlia appear behind him, attempting to use frustration. Thinking quickly DJ back flipped over her and then charged forward with quick attack, slamming into her back.

'Impossible!' thought Kirlia slowly getting up. 'How did he know where I was going to attack from?! It was like he saw me... No, that's impossible. It must have been a fluke.' She then teleported away again.

Seeing this DJ smirked as he was able to follow her teleportation path. As soon as she appeared, DJ used quick attack and hit her then followed up with force palm. The two attacks sent Kirlia flying into the wall, where she became stuck.

"How?" asked Kirlia in bewilderment. "How are you able to see where I am?!"

"No idea." said DJ with a shrug.

Kirlia then teleported behind DJ in a last ditch effort of taking him down, only for DJ to turn and hit her in the face with force palm, sending her into the opposite wall and knocking her out.

"I win." said DJ right before he passed out from exhaustion.

"Ugh." groaned DJ as he regained consciousness.

"DJ!" cried Katara when she saw that he was awake. "You're OK."

"You had us worried there." said Jackson.

"What happened?" asked DJ as he slowly rubbed his eyes. When everything came back into focus he realized that they were no longer in the cave. "Where are we?"

"We're outside the cave." said Jackson giving DJ an Oran berry, which he ate gratefully. "After you knocked out Kirlia her control over the other Pokemon broke and we all got out. You just missed Officer Magnezone. He took Kirlia away and escorted the three sentient Pokemon that were under her control back to their homes. We were about to carry you back, but you woke up."

"Damn. Should have stayed asleep." said DJ jokingly. "I'm still feeling weak though, maybe you should carry me."

"In your dreams pup." said Katara, laughing at the pout that appeared on DJ's face when she said the word 'pup'.

"Not you too." whined DJ. This caused all of them to laugh as they began there walk back to Miracle Town.

"How did you beat Kirlia anyway?" asked Katara after a few minutes of walking. "We saw that she was using teleport to attack you from all directions, then you seemed to be able to see where she was going to end up."

"I'm not sure honestly." said DJ. "It was like all of a sudden I had three sixty degree vision and I could see where Kirlia was going to end up."

"Hmm." said Jackson. "I don't know what that could have been. Maybe Alistair knows something about that."

"OK." said DJ cheerfully.

After arriving at Miracle Town, and reporting there mission a success, the three members of Team Stardust are walking out of the guild when they encounter Asura.

"So, how was the mission?" asked Asura in a 'I don't give a damn' tone.

"It was a success." said Jackson. "Kirlia was apprehended and the Pokemon that were under her control are now free."

"Good." said Asura. He then gestured to DJ. "He didn't mess up again did he?"

DJ ground his teeth, but before he could respond Jackson intervened.

"Actually, DJ was the one that beat Kirlia."

"Really?" asked Asura, with sarcasm laced in his voice. "Well good for him."

DJ growled at Asura's sarcasm, but before he could speak his mind, he was interrupted again.

"Ah, just the Pokemon I wanted to see." said a voice from behind them. They all turned and saw Tobias walking out of the guild. "You saved me a trip."

"Hello father." said Asura. "What is it that you wanted."

"Well there's someone here for Katara." said Tobias.

"Me?" asked Katara with a confused look. Just hen another Pokemon exited the guild and stood next to Tobias. The Pokemon was a completely blue bipedal crocodile-like Pokemon, three sets of red spikes running down its back, a yellow jaw, and three claws on each foot and five on each of its hands (Feraligatr). The Feraligatr also had a long scar running down its left eye, stopping right above its jaw line. When she saw this Pokemon, Katara gasped. "Dad?"

The Feraligatr smiled at Katara.

"Hello Katara." said the Feraligatr. "It's been awhile."

**Author's Notes:**

The vision that DJ displayed while fighting Kirlia is basically Lucario's vision from "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew".


	10. Chapter 10

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 10: Father Knows Best**

It was dead silent as Katara stared at the Feraligatr.

"D-dad? Is that really you?" asked Katara.

"Yes." said the Feraligatr with a smile. "It's me."

Katara stared at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She then jumped at the Feraligatr and hugged him.

"Daddy!" she shouted in happiness, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

The Feraligatr smiled and returned her hug.

"It's been a while hasn't it Katara." said the Feraligatr.

Katara said nothing as she continued to cry into the Feraligatr's arms. Everyone else just stood around awkwardly as the two hugged. It wasn't until Tobias coughed that the two broke apart.

"Well I believe introductions are in order." said Tobias as he gestured to the slightly embarrassed Feraligatr. "This is Surge and as you might have guessed, he is Katara's father."

The Feraligatr bowed.

"Hello, it's nice to meet my daughter's teammates."

"The pleasure is ours." said Asura. "I am Asura. The Umbreon is Jackson and the Riolu is DJ."

"DJ?" said Surge, giving DJ a curious look. "That's an odd name for a Pokemon."

DJ shrunk back a little at the Feraligatr's gaze, not sure if he should tell him that he was human.

"Your eyes are not red like a normal Riolu's either, even stranger." he continued as he took a step closer to DJ.

DJ began to seriously freak out under his gaze, but thankfully, Katara jumped to DJ's aid.

"Dad." said Katara in a whining tone. "You're scaring him. He's my friend, leave him alone."

Surge backed up, giving a small chuckle.

"Sorry, sorry." said Feraligatr, raising his hands in a placating manner. "Riolu are just rare around these parts, especially with abnormal eyes."

He gave DJ one more curious look before returning his gaze on his daughter.

"Anyway I wanted to talk to you about something Katara, but first..." said Surge putting his hand on his stomach and smiling sheepishly. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"

"Sure." said Katara happily. "Can my friends come with?"

Surge thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't see why not. Know any good places to eat around here, preferably one with meat?"

"I know a place." said Jackson. "Follow me. You coming Asura?"

"No thank you." said Asura. "I have somethings to discuss with my father."

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Surge. "Let's go."

A few minutes later, Surge, Katara, DJ, and Jackson find themselves outside the same restaurant that Jackson took Katara and DJ after their first mission. When they entered they were ushered into a booth, Katara, DJ, and Jackson on one side and Surge on the other, considering he was four times the size of the trio. After they all got situated, Surge ordered a steak, Jackson ordered eggs and bacon, Katara ordered a fruit salad, and DJ ordered waffles, which he devoured in under three minutes.

"Dang!" said Surge as he observed the little Riolu. "You eat faster than a starved Snorlax!"

DJ smiled sheepishly at Surge's comment, but said nothing.

"That's DJ for you. The living vacuum." said Katara.

DJ gave her a mock glare, to which Katara laughed at. Seeing the interaction between his daughter and DJ, Surge smiled. They continued to eat in silence, except for DJ, until Surge spoke up.

"So how did you two meet."

"Well, Katara actually saved me about twelve days ago." said DJ. "And since then I joined Team Stardust and we've been doing missions along with Jackson."

"Oh, so _you're_ the one she saved from the Druddigon in that cave, when she should have been with a senior member." said Surge accusingly.

"Y-you heard about that?" asked Katara with a guilty expression.

"Yes, you're guild master contacted me when you were injured. That's actually what I'm here about." said Surge. "Me and your mother have been talking, and we think it would be best if you came home."

The table was silent for the longest time. Jackson, Katara, and DJ all stared at Surge with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"What?!" asked Katara angrily, breaking the silence. "You want me to quit Team Stardust?!"

"Not quit per-say." said trying to calm down his daughter. "Think of it more as a leave of absence. You can come back in a few years, but your mother and I don't think that you're ready to be part of a guild."

"Why?!" yelled Katara.

"Well after we heard about what happened from Tobias, we decided that you are still to young to be part of a guild."

"B-b-but," sputtered Katara. "There are others that are younger than me that are part of the guild! Why can't I stay?!"

"Because," said Surge forcefully. "Your mother and I think it's far to dangerous for you to be in a guild right now. You can come back once you evolve."

"But there's no telling when that could happen!" shouted Katara, tears in her eyes. "I've been on two outlaw missions and I've been fine! I'll be fine dad, _please_! Let me stay!"

"I'm sorry Katara, but our decision is finally. You are to accompany me back home tonight." said Surge.

"TONIGHT!" shouted Katara. "But...but..."

Katara tried to find the right words, but she could not think straight. With tears flowing down her face she looked down in defeat. Both Jackson and DJ looked at Katara with pained expressions. DJ felt her sorrow and helplessness and couldn't bare it anymore.

"I still don't see why she has to go." said DJ, gaining the attention off everyone at the table. "She'll have other members of Team Stardust with her on missions. She'll be completely safe."

"Sorry pup." said Surge. "It's not that I don't trust you team, but I would feel safer knowing that there was someone strong with her."

"But there will be." said DJ, thinking fast. "I'll be with her."

Everyone was stared at DJ. Jackson and Katara both had frowns on their faces, wondering why DJ was acting so cocky. There was more silence, until Surge burst out laughing.

"You?" said Surge between laughs. "No offense, but you're just a pup. There's no way that you can defend her against powerful enemies."

"Oh really." said DJ with a sly smirk. "Then how about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" asked Surge slightly interested. "What kind of deal."

"If I can beat you in a fight, Katara gets to stay with Team Stardust." said DJ.

Katara and Jackson stared at DJ in shock, while Surge seemed amused.

"And what do I get if I win?" asked Surge.

"Katara stays with you until you deem her ready to come back." said DJ.

Surge stroked his chin, as if thinking about DJ's offer, before smiling.

"Alright pup. You've got yourself a deal." said Surge, extending his hand. "But don't expect me to hold back just because you're a kid."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." said DJ as he shook Surge's hand.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" yelled Katara at DJ as she hit him over the top of his head. They were making their way down to the practice fields, where DJ would fight Surge. Surge himself had already gone on ahead to the practice fields and Jackson had headed over to the guild house to inform everyone else about what was happening, leaving DJ and Katara alone. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING CHALLENGING MY DAD?!"

"I WAS THINKING I WAS TRYING TO ALLOW YOU TO STAY ON TEAM STARDUST!" yelled DJ.

"SO YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO CHALLENGE MY DAD, WHO HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE?!"

"WELL SORRY IF I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU LEAVE!"

This statement caused Katara to pause and look at DJ in shock and confusion. Seeing the look on her face DJ continued.

"Look... you were the first one I met in this world, and not only that, you were also the first one to show me kindness." As he spoke, DJ's eyes became glossy with unshed tears. "I don't know if it's because of the bond or if it's my personality, but I don't want to see you upset."

"DJ..."

"Please... I need you to believe in me. Believe that I can do this."

The look in his eyes were desperate, as if Katara believing in him was the most important thing in the world to him, as if her belief would actually allow him to win. Seeing this look Katara sighed.

"OK. I believe in you."

"Thank you." said DJ, wiping his eyes. He then looked at her and smiled. "I promise you, that I will do everything in my power to keep you here."

Katara wanted more than anything to believe his words, but she knew that her father was to strong. Despite this, she still gave him a small smile.

When DJ and Katara arrived at the practice fields they spotted Surge and Alistair chatting nearby. As they made their way towards the duo they picked up on some of their conversation.

"...and then he went flying off the ledge and fell into the lake!" laughed Surge.

Alistair laughed as well as Surge finished his story.

"My, my. You've had some exciting adventures over the past ten years." said Alistair. Alistair then noticed DJ and Katara approaching. "DJ, Katara, it's good to see you. I was just having a lovely conversation with Katara's father here."

"You know Gramps?" DJ asked Surge.

"Gramps?!" asked Surge before bursting out in laughter. "You let him call you that?!"

"Unfortunately, when we first met I told him he could call me whatever he wanted and he called me Gramps." sighed Alistair.

This caused Surge to laugh even harder.

"Oh that is rich!" said Surge wiping a tear out of his eye. "Anyway, yes we know each other. We've gone on many missions together back in the day. I was a young Croconaw at the time and this old geezer was one of the older members on the team."

"I wish you would stop calling me old." sighed Alistair. "I'm only a couple years older than you.

"That's old in my book." said Surge.

"You two were on a team?" interrupted Katara.

"Yes we were." replied Alistair. "We were a four mon (AN: Not a typo instead of man I will use mon do to the fact that Pokemon are not human.) team called Team SATE. It was me, you're father, a Gardevoir named Ester, and your guild master."

"You were on a team with the guild master?" asked DJ. 'I'm starting to regret challenging him...'

"Yep. We were a force to be hold." said Surge cheerfully. "Then we all went our separate ways ten years ago."

Both Surge's and Alistair's expressions seemed to darken at Surge's last statement, as if they were remembering something unpleasant. Surge broke out of his stupor first and smiled.

"So how did you meet Alistair lil' pup?" asked Surge in an attempt to change the subject.

"Guild master actually called him to train me." said DJ, a little annoyed at the 'pup' comment.

"Oho!" said Surge as he looked from DJ to Alistair. "So you've been training him, aye Alistair? That should make this fight more interesting."

"Fight?" asked Alistair. "What fight?"

"You see, the pup here made a bet that if he could beat me in a battle."

"WHAT!" yelled Alistair, staring at DJ. "I'VE ONLY BEEN TRAINING YOU FOR FOUR DAYS! WHAT WOULD POSSESS YOU TO CHALLENGE HIM?!"

"He was going to force Katara to leave Team Stardust!" said DJ defensively. "I couldn't just stand by and let that happen!"

Alistair's expression softened at this and sighed.

"No, of course you couldn't."

Before anymore could be said, DJ was suddenly hit over the head with a bone.

"OWW!" shouted DJ, clutching his head. He then turned and saw a glaring Bertha holding her bone menacingly. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!" shouted Bertha as the rest of Team Stardust, and Tobias, made their way over to the group. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CHALLENGE KATARA'S DAD?!"

"I'M TRYING TO KEEP HIM FROM FORCING KATARA TO LEAVE!" shouted DJ, ignoring Bertha's death-glare.

"Even so, you shouldn't have made such a rash decision." said Grace sternly as she and everyone else reached the group.

"I don't see why you're making such a fuss about this." said Asura. "Surge said that he would allow her to return once she was stronger."

"Of course you wouldn't understand." DJ said to Asura venomously. "Anyway it's too late know. I made the bet and it's too late to back out now."

The others wanted to argue more, but Tobias cut them off.

"He's right." said Tobias. "He has made his choice, and he must live with the consequences."

"How troublesome." said Drake as he backed off.

The rest all nodded, reluctantly (except Asura) and backed off as well.

"Now that everyone's here, how about we get this show on the road?" asked DJ.

Surge laughed at this statement.

"You've got guts pup, but don't expect me to go easy on you." said Surge as he got into a battle stance.

"I would be insulted if you did." said DJ with a smile as he too got into a battle stance. And like that the battle begun.

DJ used quick attack to closed the distance between him and Surge and used force palm before Surge could react. The attack caused Surge to be pushed back a couple feat, but the attack did not seem to do that much damage. DJ then used quick attack and slammed into Surge, hoping that the attack would cause Surge to lose his balance and fall, but Surge barely moved. Seeing that his attack did very little, DJ used force palm again to push Surge away, then charged at him with quick attack while using force palm in hopes of doing more damage, but before he could land the attack Surge dodged with speeds that one would not expect for something so big. DJ skidded to a halt and quickly brought up his paws in a defensive manner, just in time to stop Surge from slashing him with glowing claws (Slash). Thankfully for DJ, Surge's claws hit the bones that were protruding from his paws. While not completely blocking the attack, the bones did greatly reduce the damage. Surge attempted to use slash again, DJ used force palm on the approaching claw, causing Surge's arm to jerk back leaving Surge wide open. Seeing an opening, DJ used force palm on Surge's unguarded chest. Surge stumbled back holding the spot that was hit, seeing this DJ charged, attempting another force palm, but just as he was about to connect, Surge lowered his head and bit DJ's paw, halting the attack. DJ cried out in pain as Surge's teeth penetrated his paw, and could only watch in horror as ice began to spread up his arm from where Surge's teeth touched his paw (Ice Fang). DJ tried get free, but he could not break out of Surge's jaws. Surge then tossed his head back, pulling DJ with it, and opened his mouth, sending DJ flying into the air. As DJ began to fall, Surge shot out a torrent of water from his mouth that hit DJ and sent him flying into a wall (Hydro Pump). DJ slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

"I have to say I'm disappointed." said Surge with a sigh. "You only know two moves and you expect to beat me?"

"Yep." said DJ with a groan as he slowly got up. "Besides, it's not my fault I only know two moves. Alistair hasn't taught me any!" said DJ pointing at Alistair, who had the decency to look slightly sheepish.

This caused Surge to laugh out loud.

"I like you pup. You've got guts!" said Surge.

"I don't suppose this means you'll let Katara stay?" said DJ.

"Nice try kid, but no." said Surge.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." said DJ as he charged Surge, ignoring the pain and his frozen paw.

As DJ approached, Surge swung his arm, using slash, at DJ. DJ, thinking quickly brought up his frozen paw and not only blocked the attack, but also broke the ice that surrounded his paw. DJ then used his other paw and hit Surge with force palm. As Surge stumbled back, he was hit in the jaw by another force palm, causing him to stumble even more. Seeing him off balance, DJ unleashed a barrage of force palms, only to have more than half of them to be either dodged or blocked. As he continued to use force palm, DJ began to tire out. Using so many attacks one after the other slowly began to take its toll on DJ as his attacks became slower and slower. Just as DJ was about to use another force palm, Surge caught his paw and threw him away. DJ pirouetted in midair and landed in crouch, breathing hard.

'Damn!' thought DJ. 'I've hit him like twenty times, but he keeps shrugging off my attacks. If this keeps up, I'll lose for sure! But I can't give up. Katara's counting on me!'

Surge regarded the little Riolu with a calculating look, before sighing.

"I take back my previous statement. Even though you only know two moves you are strong." said Surge with a smile. "I can tell you're gonna go far pup."

DJ couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"However." said Surge. "You are clearly outclassed, but I can tell from the look in your eyes that you won't give up. So unfortunately I have to end this now."

As soon as he said this, his whole body tensed. Surge's body became covered in a light blue aura which seemed to cause his muscles to bulge and grow (Superpower). He then launched himself at DJ with startling speed and punched DJ in the stomach. The hit was strong enough to knock the wind out of DJ and send him flying back a couple of yards. Before DJ could catch his breath Surge was upon him. Surge then kicked him up into the air and jumped after him. As DJ reached the apex of his ascent Surge appeared above him, grabbed DJ by his ankles, and threw him face first into the ground, cracking the ground on impact. As Surge began to fall he brought his hands together and smashed them into DJ's back, pushing him further into the ground. DJ cried out n pain and went still.

"DJ!" shouted Katara as she, and everyone else, watched in horror at the brutal events that just occurred.

Surge straightened up and looked at DJ's downed body and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I might have over done that a little." said Surge as he began to walk towards the others.

"You went too far." said Alistair angrily. "You could have killed him!"

"Well sorry!" said Surge. "He wouldn't give up so I had to finish him off. At least it's over no-"

"No." said a voice from behind Surge.

Everyone looked at where the voice came from and were shocked to see it came from DJ, who was, shakily, rising.

"No." he repeated as he painfully attempted to get up. "It's not over yet."

"Kid it's over." said Surge, getting over his shock. "I commend you for you're determination, but look at yourself. You can barely stand. You can't beat me."

Despite these words, DJ continued to attempt to rise to his feet. Surge was amazed at DJ's determination. He was also concerned that if he continued to fight, DJ could permanently hurt himself.

"Kid you need to give up!" said Surge. When DJ refused to listen, Surge spoke again. "Why? Why are you trying so hard?! You just met my daughter. Why are you trying so hard to keep her here?!"

"Because I made a promise." said DJ, finally rising to his feet. "I promised her that I would do everything in my power to keep her on the team. That's why... I will never give up!"

As he said this, DJ instinctively brought his paws together and blue energy became to form in between his paws. The energy then stabilized and formed a glowing blue sphere.

"That's impossible." said Tobias, his eyes wide. "That's-"

"Aura sphere." finished Alistair as he too stared at the glowing sphere.

DJ unleashed a primal roar and fired the aura sphere at Surge, who was standing there gobsmacked. When the sphere hit Surge the ensuing explosion rocketed Surge towards the group, who had to dive to the side to avoid being hit by Surge's body. Surge then slammed into the wall, which crumbled and buried him. DJ smiled weakly and fell to a knee, completely exhausted.

"I did it." he said as he surveyed the wreckage.

However his euphoria was short lived as Surge emerged from the wreckage, looking at DJ with an unreadable gaze. DJ tried to move, but he found that he didn't have the strength to lift a paw. Surge walked towards DJ leisurely, with the same unreadable look in his eyes, until he was standing over DJ.

"I have to admit, that actually hurt." said Surge looking down at DJ. He then raised his clawed hand, as if about to attack. DJ closed his eyes and braced himself for pain, however, what he felt was a hand patting his head. DJ opened his eyes in surprise and saw Surge smiling at him. "You truly are strong lil' pup. I can see that my daughter is in good hands."

"Does that mean..." said DJ looking at Surge hopefully.

"Yes, she can stay." said Surge. "Seeing you're willingness to fight for my daughter, I've decided that she can stay. Truthfully, I decided that she could stay after you challenged me to a restaurant.

"WHAT!" shouted Katara, as she and everyone else had approached the two after they had seen Surge pat DJ on the head and heard what Surge had said. Surge turned and saw his daughter seething with rage. "So you mean to tell me, that you put DJ through all of that, and you were going to let me stay anyway?!"

Surge was beginning to sweat at his daughter's glare.

"W-well yes. I wanted to see how far he would go for a teammate..." said Surge nervously. Seeing Katara's glare had not diminished, he quickly changed the subject. "A-anyway you should probably get the pup back to the guild house before he collapses."

"I'm not going to collapse." slurred DJ as the adrenaline that had been keeping him conscious finally faded and he fell onto the ground unconscious.

"Wah, DJ!" cried Katara as she ran to his side, not noticing her father sigh in relief.

"You all should take him back to your guild house." said Surge, indicating to the rest of Team Stardust. "I need to talk to your guild master."

Team Stardust nodded, and Jackson used psychic to lift DJ so his body and he Team Stardust headed back to their guild house. As soon as they were gone Surge turned to Tobias and Alistair, suddenly dead serious.

"OK, what's up with that Riolu?" asked Surge. "How the hell is he able to use aura sphere."

"I'm not sure." said Alistair truthfully. "I was not aware that he could do that."

"I did." said Tobias, gaining startled looks from the other two. "When I rescued him and Katara from the cave, I arrived just in time to see DJ launch an aura sphere at the Druddigon. It was so powerful that it actually knocked out the Druddigon."

"Seriously?!" asked Surge. "Damn, I knew there was something off about him. I'm starting to regret letting Katara stay."

"I can assure you that she will be perfectly safe around him." said Tobias.

"Can you? Can you really assure me that?" When he didn't receive a response, Surge sighed. "I didn't think so."

"Look I'll be training him." said Alistair. "I'll make sure _that_ doesn't happen again."

"Cause you did _such_ a good job last time." said Surge bitterly.

"Guys!" interrupted Tobias. "We'll just have to watch him to make sure nothing happens. And above all, we must make sure _he _doesn't find out about DJ."

"Agreed." said both Alistair and Surge.

Meanwhile, DJ was being patched up by Grace in his room.

"That was reckless." scolded Grace as she finished bandaging DJ. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"I know, but I couldn't just stand by and do nothing." said DJ, wincing slightly from his injuries.

Grace just sighed and mumbled 'stubborn' as she left the room. As soon as she left Katara entered looking sheepish.

"Hey." said Katara, not making eye-contact.

"Hey." said DJ.

"I just wanted to... to thank you for fighting for me to stay."

"Hey we're teammates. It's what we do." said DJ with a smile. "Any one of us would have fought for you, except maybe Asura."

At this, both of them laughed.

"I'm happy that I get to stay here." said Katara.

"I'm happy too." said DJ as he slowly lost consciousness and fell asleep.

Katara looked at DJ's sleeping form and smiled.

"Thank you DJ."


	11. Chapter 11

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 11: Aura Sphere**

"Why do I have to stay here?!" whined DJ.

"Because you have not fully recovered from your fight yesterday." said Grace with a stern look.

It was the morning following DJ's fight with Surge, who came by earlier to say goodbye to Katara as he was returning home, and DJ, who's arms, head, and torso are wrapped in bandages, was arguing with Grace.

"But I feel fine." argued DJ.

"Oh really?" said Grace as she smacked DJ's back, not hard, but with some force. Seeing his wince, Grace smiled grimly. "See? You're still hurt. You need at least a days rest."

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal of this." said Katara. "Most explorers would kill for a day off."

"But, what am I supposed to do?" asked DJ in a whiny tone.

"Just watch TV or something." said Jackson as he and Katara began to make their way out of the guild house.

"But-" said DJ only for the rest of his words to die in his mouth as he saw the glare that Grace was giving him.

"You are forbidden from doing any form of strenuous activity until I deem you well enough. Do I make myself clear?" said Grace in a steely calm voice, that promised pain if her orders were not heeded.

"O-OK." stuttered DJ.

Grace's face instantly brightened up.

"Good." said Grace cheerfully. "Don't worry. Fighting types are fast healers. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

With that, she and the rest of Team Stardust left, leaving DJ alone.

"Sheesh." said DJ as he sat down in an armchair and turned on the TV. "She's almost as scary as Nurse Audrey."

An hour later, DJ finds himself increasingly bored.

"Ugh. I can't just sit here. I need to do something!" said DJ as he stood and switched off the TV. "Maybe I'll go for a walk. That's not strenuous."

With this loophole in mind, DJ left the guild house. He walked aimlessly down the streets of Miracle Town, wondering where he should go.

'Hmm...' thought DJ (AN: If you haven't figured it out yet, something surrounded by ' ' means it is a thought and " " means it is spoken out loud). 'I could visit Auntie Cana and Mai. Or maybe Glyph. I haven't seen him in awhile.'

DJ was pulled out of his musings by a voice.

"Hey! Hey pup!"

'I'm seriously getting tired of people calling me that.' thought DJ as he turned in the direction of the voice. What he saw was a group Pokemon approaching him. Though the voice didn't sound malicious, DJ tensed up a little at the large group of Pokemon. "Umm...can I help you."

Seeing his uneasiness the lead Pokemon spoke.

"No need to worry pup. We just wanted to talk."

DJ relaxed a little, but remained on his guard. He eyed the group cautiously and realized there were seven of them. The one in front was a big bipedal chicken-like Pokemon with pale yellow feathers on its torso and dark orange feathers on its lower body. It also had a short, wide, orange beak, three sharp claws at the end of its long arms, scaly legs, and a feather crest (made from the same colored feathers as its lower body) with three points (Shiny Combusken). The second Pokemon was a bipedal lizard-like Pokemon with a pointed head, a cream colored stomach, three sharp claws on its hand and feet, and a long tail that was tipped with fire (Charmeleon). The third Pokemon looked like a monkey with orange fur surrounding its whole body, except for its muzzle, the palms on its hands, fingers, feet, ears, and stomach (which were all tan). Its eyes had a thick blue marking above and a small red one below. It also had five fingers on each hand, gold bands around its arms, three toes on each foot, and a long tail tipped with fire (Monferno). The fourth Pokemon was large and stocky, with armor, gray bodied quadruped (Lairon). The fifth one was a dragonfly-like Pokemon with bulging green eyes, a slender yellow body, four green rhombus shaped wings, and similarly colored rhombuses on the end of its tail (Vibrava). The sixth Pokemon looked like a bunny with brown fur, two tan colored puff balls on its ears, two tan dots above its eyes, fluffy tan fur covering its lower body and feet, and a brown puff tail (Buneary). The final Pokemon looked like a bipedal frog with dark blue skin, big yellow eyes that were surrounded by black markings, orange cheeks that inflated as it breathed, wide and flat teeth that protruded from its mouth, white bands around its chest, three black toes on each foot, and two black fingers on each hand that surrounded the middle digit which was orange (Croagunk).

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" DJ asked cautiously.

"Well, we saw your battle with that Feraligatr yesterday and-" began the Combusken, but was cut off be DJ.

"You saw that?"

"Yeah!" said the Vibrava enthusiastically. "The way you wouldn't give up after you were literally beat into the ground. And how you used aura sphere, a move which you shouldn't even be able to use, was just amazing!"

"Aura sphere?" asked DJ confusedly.

"Yeah, aura sphere. The move you used to send that Feraligatr flying." said the Croagunk.

"Oh." said DJ. "So _that's_ what that attack was."

"You don't even know the name of your attack?" asked the Monferno. "You must be really stupid."

"Hey!" shouted DJ. Though he could tell from his tone that the Monferno was joking, it still riled DJ up.

"Anyway." said the Combusken, before things could escalate. "After seeing your fight, we were wondering if you would like to join Team Sunflare!"

"Team... Sunflare?" asked DJ.

"Yep." said the Buneary. "That's us! I'm Michaela, the Charmeleon is John, the Monferno is Kent, the Vibrava is Max, the Lairon is Tyler, the Croagunk is Jessie, but we call him Screech, and the Combusken is our _fearless_ leader Collin." her she taking on a sarcastic tone as she said 'fearless'.

Despite the sarcastic tone, Collin puffed out his chest importantly, causing the others to roll their eyes.

"So, how about it?" asked Collin. "Want to join our team?"

"Umm... thanks for the offer, but I'm already part of a team." said DJ nervously.

There was an awkward silence as DJ and Team Sunflare looked at each other.

"Well." said Tyler in an attempt to break the silence. "This is awkward.

There was more silence until...

"I TOLD YOU DUMBASS!" shouted John, glaring Collin.

"WELL SORRY I WASN'T SURE SO I WANTED TO CHECK!" Collin shot back.

"WELL IF YOU LISTENED TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE, WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS SITUATION!" replied John.

"Guys." said Screech. "Just calm down and-"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" shouted both Collin and John in unison, cutting of Screech.

Screech just sighed as he backed off and watched the two continue to argue.

"Does this happen often." asked DJ as he watched the two shout at each other.

"You have no idea." said Tyler.

"Alright enough of this." said Michaela as she approached the arguing duo. "BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP AND STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!"

The two immediately became quiet and looked at Michaela with slight fear in their eyes.

"Good." said Michaela as she turned back around and smiled at DJ.

'Holy crap!' thought DJ. 'She's just as scary as Grace!'

"So what team are you part off, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Michaela polity.

"I'm part of Team Stardust." answered DJ.

"Team Stardust? Why does that name sound so familiar?" asked Kent as tapped his forehead with his finger, eyes scrunched up in concentration. He then opened his eyes and snapped his fingers in realization. "Oh! That's Asura's team right?"

"Yeah." said DJ. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah we've encountered him and hi team once or twice." said Tyler. "Tell me, is he still an asshole?"

"Yeah, he is." said DJ with a small smile on his face.

This caused all of Team Sunflare to laugh out loud.

"You know..." began Screech, after he finished laughing. "...he wasn't always a jerk."

"Really?" asked DJ in bewilderment.

"Yeah." said Collin. "He was still uptight, but he was a lot nicer. He started acting like the way he is now a couple years ago."

"What happened?" asked DJ.

"I'm not sure." replied Collin.

DJ was silent as he tried to figure out what could have happened to Asura to make him such an ass.

"Anyway we should probably get going." said Collin. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"It's no problem." replied DJ with a smile. "I had nothing planned and it was nice meeting you all."

"Wait, you never told us your name." said Max.

"That's because you never asked." said DJ cheekily. "My name's DJ."

"Well it was nice to meet you DJ." said Michaela.

"Likewise." replied DJ.

"Catch you around pup." said Collin as he and his team left.

"I wish people would stop calling me that." sighed DJ. "They seem like nice Pokemon though."

He then put his paw on his chin in thought.

"Aura sphere, huh?" DJ said to himself. "I wonder if Alistair knows anything about it."

With that in mind, DJ headed for the practice fields.

"Hey Alistair!" shouted DJ when he saw Alistair training in the practice fields.

Alistair looked towards where DJ's voice came from and smiled.

"DJ! Good to see you up and about. Especially after your fight yesterday." said Alistair.

"Well you know me." said DJ with a smile. "It takes more than an ass kicking to keep me down!"

"I can see that." said Alistair with a smile. "So what can I do for you? Though I'll say right now that I'm not training you while your injured."

DJ's face then morphed into a more serious one.

"I actually came by to ask you something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"That move I used yesterday...it was aura sphere right?"

Alistair tensed at this.

"...Yes. It was. What of it?"

"Well... I heard that Riolu shouldn't be able to use aura sphere, so...how did I use it?"

Alistair was silent for awhile. He just gazed at DJ with a calculating look, as if trying to figure out how to explain something troubling, before sighing.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before this came up." said Alistair. "You are ale to use aura sphere because you are more sensitive to the aura than other Riolu."

"Huh?" asked DJ in confusion.

"You see, aura sphere is a move that draws out a Pokemon's inner energy. This energy is the life force of all living things. Aura sphere..." said Alistair as he created an aura sphere in his paw. "Takes this energy from all around and compresses this energy into a spherical shape. And when it's released..."

As he said this, he fired an aura sphere at a nearby wall. Upon contact is exploded, causing dust and debris to fly everywhere. When the dust finally settled a giant crater was left on the wall.

"Wow!" said DJ in utter amazement.

"However," continued Alistair. "When the aura is in its spherical shape is becomes extremely unstable and requires constant manipulation. That is why all Lucario have the ability to see aura. This allows us to be able to keep the aura in the spherical shape."

"But, wait." said DJ. "Davis, from Team Odd Squad, was able to use it and he's not a Lucario. So how is he able to use aura sphere?"

"Oh? I'm glad you caught that." said Alistair, smiling at DJ. "You see, some Pokemon are able to sensitive to the aura, not as much as a Lucario, but more than a Riolu. This allows them to manipulate the aura into a sphere, but they are not able to see the aura like a Lucario can."

"When you say 'see the aura', what do you mean by that?" asked DJ.

"I believe a more practical demonstration would be better." said Alistair. He then closed his eyes and his aura sensors (the black things on the back of his head) rose. "Now, I want you to try to hit me."

"W-what?" asked DJ in shock.

"Hit me." said Alistair simply. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

DJ looked nervous about attack Alistair while his eyes were closed, but he charged him regardless. When DJ was about to land a punch at Alistair's head, Alistair tilted his head to avoid the attack. DJ was shocked at this, but he quickly got over his shock and attempted to deliver a round house kick to Alistair's head. Alistair ducked under the kick and blocked another punch from DJ. DJ tried to kick Alistair in the stomach, but Alistair grabbed his foot and threw him to the ground.

"OW!" DJ cried out in pain as he landed on his already injured side.

"Oops!" said Alistair, opening his eyes and giving DJ a look of concern. "I forgot you were still injured!"

"It's fine." said DJ, waving off Alistair's concern. "But how did you do that?"

"That, my young protege, is the aura sight." said Alistair.

"Aura sight?" asked DJ.

"Yes, aura sight." said Alistair. "The aura sight is an ability that all Lucario have. This ability allows Lucario to see everything in a three sixty degree radius. It also allows them to see through great distances, if they concentrate hard enough."

DJ thought for a moment and then remembered the strange sight that he gained that while fighting Kirlia that allowed him to see everything around him.

"This aura sight," said DJ. "Does it make everything look blue?"

"Yes. Yes it does." said Alistair giving DJ a critical look. "How did you know that?"

"Well you see..." said DJ as he explained the events of the mission that he went on yesterday and the strange sight that he gained when fighting Kirlia.

"I see." said Alistair, gaining a thinking pose. He then looked at DJ and gave him a curious look. "Could you show me?"

"Umm. I'm not exactly sure how I did it before." said DJ nervously.

"Just think back. Remember what you felt when you used the aura sight and replicate it."

DJ nodded and closed his eyes. He thought back to his fight with Kirlia and tried to remember what he felt. He remembered his desperate desire to succeed and his desire to win and suddenly he could see everything. DJ looked around and saw that he indeed had three sixty vision. He then turned in the direction of guild house and focused. To his surprise, everything seemed to go out of focus as his vision zoomed in on the guild house.

"Whoa." was all he could say.

"Hmm. That is indeed the aura sight." said Alistair as he observed DJ, who's aura sensors were levitating. "To think that you are able to use the aura sight without any training. It's incredible."

"But how was I able to use it." said DJ, as he opened his eyes. "You said that Riolu aren't very sensitive to the aura, so how am I able to do these things?"

"Like I said before. You are more sensitive to the aura than other Riolu." said Alistair. "In fact, judging by how you are already able to use the aura sight, you are more sensitive to the aura then some Lucario."

"But, how?" asked DJ. "How am I so sensitive to the aura?"

Alistair sighed again as he looked at DJ.

"I'm not sure, but there has only been one other Riolu who was as sensitive to the aura as you." said Alistair.

"Really? Who?!" asked DJ.

Alistair looked at DJ and chose his next words carefully.

"The other one that has appeared in Miracle Town, by the name of Luke." said Alistair. Seeing DJ's confused expression, he elaborated. "The other human that turned into a Pokemon, more specifically, a Riolu."

DJ's eyes widened at this.

'So the other human that was here had this ability too?" thought DJ. "So he was able to use this ability too?"

"Yes, and before you ask, I cannot tell you anything else about him." said Alistair.

"But why not?!" asked DJ. "What happened that to him that was so bad that no one wants to tell me?!"

"Just let it be pup."

"But-"

"I said let it be!" shouted Alistair in anger, shocking DJ. Alistair then calmed down and spoke softly. "Just...trust me. It's for the best that you don't know."

DJ wanted to argue, but held his tongue knowing that he wouldn't get anymore information.

"Fine." huffed DJ. "Can you at least teach me how to use aura sphere? It would really help out on missions."

"Sure." said Alistair, thankful for the subject change. He then created another aura sphere. "OK, first activate your aura sense and observe this aura sphere."

DJ nodded and did as instructed. As he did this he noticed that the aura was spinning rapidly.

"Now, I want you to look closely at the sphere. Pay close attention to how the aura spins, the direction that it spins, and the power needed to manipulate the aura." said Alistair. "Now try to replicate what you see. Use both of your paws to form the sphere. It makes it easier to manipulate the aura when you use both paws."

DJ nodded and put his paws together. He then scrunched up his eyes in concentration as he tried to pull the aura around him. A small blue orb began to form between his paws and slowly began to grow.

"Good." said Alistair. "Now keep concentrating. Don't lose focus!"

Sweat poured down DJ's face as he strained to maintain the aura sphere. It then began swelling to the size of a basketball and continued to grow.

"Don't lose control of it!" said Alistair. "Concentrate!"

"I'm trying but..." said DJ. Then all of a sudden the aura sphere rapidly shrunk to the size of a pea. "Wha-"

The aura sphere then exploded and sent DJ flying backwards into a wall with such force that he not only cracked the wall but also bounced off and hit the ground, where he laid still.

"DJ!" shouted Alistair as he rushed to his side. "Are you alright?!"

"Ugh." groaned DJ as he got in a sitting position. "What happened?"

Alistair sighed in relief.

"You lost control of the aura." said Alistair, kneeling down to check on DJ.

"Oh..." said DJ. "Well let's try again."

"Are you crazy?!" asked Alistair in astonishment as DJ got to his feet. "That explosion sent you barreling into a wall. Plus your still injured from your fight yesterday."

"You know what they say. No pain no gain." said DJ as he closed his eyes and brought his paws together.

"If you keep pushing yourself like this you might permanently injure yourself!" said Alistair as he tried to talk DJ out of continuing.

"I have to keep pushing myself." said DJ as he concentrated. "If I don't I will keep holding back the team. I refuse to be a burden, so I'll keep pushing even if it means my death!"

Alistair was stunned by DJ's words. He just watched in silence as DJ pulled in the aura around him and attempted to manipulate into a sphere. He then closed his eyes and smiled.

"You are a stubborn pup aren't you?" asked Alistair with a smile. This statement caused the aura sphere to lose shape and dissipate, thankfully not exploding. When DJ turned to look at Alistair, he saw that he was smiling. "Well shall we continue training?"

DJ smiled at this.

"Yeah!"

"Where did you get those bruised?" Grace asked DJ. It was five hours after DJ began his aura sphere training and he just returned to the guild house covered in bruises.

"T-there from my fight with Surge." lied DJ, sweating profusely from Grace's gaze.

"No they're not." said Grace taking a closer look. "These are new! I thought I told not physical activity until you're better!"

"B-b-ut I wasn't doing any _physical_ activity." said DJ thinking fast. "I was practicing aura sphere."

This caught everyone's attention.

"Aura sphere?" asked Grace, her anger forgotten. "But Riolu can't learn aura sphere."

"Well I can." said DJ proudly.

"Bullshit." said Asura coldly. "It's impossible for Riolu to learn aura sphere."

"Oh yeah?" asked DJ cockily. "Well check this out!"

DJ closed his eyes, put his paws together, and concentrated. Then to everyone's surprise, though Drake and Asura didn't show it, a small blue orb began to form in between his paws.

"No way!" said Jackson staring at the glowing sphere in amazement.

"T-that's impossible!" said Bertha, dropping her bone.

"Ha! I told you the move that he used on Katara's dad was aura sphere!" said Blitz to Bertha. "You owe me thirty poke!"

"H-how?" asked Katara.

"Apparently I'm more sensitive to the aura than any other Riolu." said DJ. "I'm just starting out, so I can't hold it for long and sometimes it-"

DJ was cut off by the aura sphere suddenly shrinking then exploding, throwing DJ against the wall.

"-Explodes." said DJ with a cough.

"DJ!" shouted Katara as she and the rest of Team Stardust (minus Asura) rushed to his side. "Are you OK?"

"NO YOU'RE NOT OK!" shouted Grace. "YOUR EVEN MORE INJURED THAN YOU WERE THIS MORNING!

Scythe then noticed the cracked wall and became infuriated.

"YOU BROKE THE WALL!" shouted Scythe (AN: I am changing Scythe into a neat freak instead of someone obsessed with symmetry). "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THAT WILL TAKE TO FIX?! AND THERE'S DEBRIS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!"

The rest of Team Stardust laughed as DJ was being yelled at by both Grace and Scythe while Asura looked at DJ with calculating eyes.

'A Riolu being able to use aura sphere. That's unheard of!' Asura thought to himself. Asura was then broken out of his thoughts by the sound of his entire team laughing, even DJ. Seeing this, Asura scoffed. 'Even with a that power, he's a failure. He won't be able to succeed in life with that kind of mindset.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 12: Jet**

After another day of being literally confined to his bed, seeing as Grace had chained him to his bed, DJ was finally well enough to go out on missions again.

"Finally, I get to go out on missions again." said an ecstatic DJ as he joined the others in the lounge.

"You might have been allowed to go out on missions sooner if you hadn't pissed of Grace." said Katara.

"Grace wasn't going to let him go out today either, but he gave her the puppy eyes of death." snickered Jackson.

"S-shut up!" said a blushing DJ, causing everyone to laugh.

"Actually that wasn't the reason." said Grace. "When I was checking his injuries yesterday I found that the majority of them were already healed so I decided to let him go out today. Honestly he could have gone out yesterday, but I wanted to teach him a lesson about respecting authority."

Grace then turned to DJ and gave him a dark look.

"You did learn your lesson, right?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" said DJ, slightly cowering under Grace's intense look.

"Good." said Grace, smiling again. She then pulled out a bunch of papers and addressed everyone. "Now for today's missions..."

"Wait. I thought Asura always gave out missions." said Katara. "Isn't it the team leaders job, and also, where is Asura."

Everyone except DJ and Katara suddenly gained depressed expressions on their faces.

"Asura... is taking today off." said Grace.

"Why?" asked Katara curiously.

"He's...not feeling well today, so I'm acting leader today." said Grace. "Anyway, here are your missions for today."

She handed out the missions and wished everyone good luck as she left.

"OK." said Jackson. "Our mission today is to explore a new dungeon that has just popped up. We are to go through the whole dungeon and report the number of floors that said dungeon contains."

"What the dungeon called?" asked DJ.

"Haunted Mansion."

"This is a dungeon?" asked DJ as the trio arrived at a run-down looking house.

"Yep." replied Jackson. "Remember, any place can become a dungeon. No one knows how or why dungeons form, but something causes the area to change and warp into a dungeon."

"But I don't see why we are needed to map out the floors to this place." said Katara, taking a closer look at the house/dungeon. "It looks like a normal three floor building."

"Looks can be deceiving." said Jackson. "You see, once a dungeon is formed, the time and space in the area become warped, meaning that a dungeon is bigger that it looks from the outside."

"Oh." said Katara. "Well let's get this done."

With those final words, the trio entered the house/dungeon.

"I see what you mean by bigger on the inside." said DJ as the trio walked the halls of the 'house'. We've bee walking for almost ten minutes and we still haven't found the staircase."

And it was true. The trio had been walking through the dungeon for the best part of ten minutes and still nothing. Every room they entered seemed to be a room of a normal house except a lot bigger.

"We also haven't encountered any wild Pokemon." said Jackson. "How odd."

"Let's just hurry up." said Katara, suppressing a shiver. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Hey DJ, do you think that you can use your aura sight to locate the stairs?" asked Jackson.

"I'll try." said DJ as he closed his eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds his aura sensors rose up and he could see everything around him. He then extended his sight to a nearby hallway, but as he reached it, everything became cloudy, preventing him from seeing any further. "That's weird. I can see everything in the room, but when I reach a hallway everything gets foggy."

"Hmm. It must be the dungeon messing with your sight." said Jackson. "Ah well, it was worth a shot. Let's continue."

The trio went to the nearest hallway and their trek, and when they reached the next room, they were rewarded with the staircase. Four more floors passed and the trio had still yet to encounter a single Pokemon.

"What gives?" asked DJ, looking around. "We've gone through five floors and we still haven't encountered a single Pokemon."

"That is strange." said Jackson. "I've never heard of a dungeon void of wild Pokemon. Maybe we just got lucky and avoided all of them."

"But I can't shake this feeling." said Katara looking around nervously. "It's like since the third floor, something's been watching us."

"Yeah I felt it too."said Jackson.

"Hmm..." said DJ. Out of curiosity he closed his eyes and activated his aura sense, and what he saw surprised him. Surrounding them were multiple floating Pokemon. As he looked closer he saw that the group of Pokemon were composed of three different types. One type looked like a black ball surrounded by a purple mist with two big eyes and a mouth (Gastly). Another type had a roundish head, two disembodied hands, each possessing three fingers, an three spike-like protrusions coming out of either side of its head (Haunter). The final Pokemon looked like it was covered with a grayish cloth and had two weirdly colored eyes, light blue sclera, dark blue irises, and yellow pupils (Shuppet). "We're surrounded!"

"What?" said Katara, looking around frantically. "I don't see anything."

"But I can." said DJ, turning his attention to the floating Pokemon. "You can stop hiding now, I can see you!"

Seeing as they were caught, the surrounding Pokemon became visible, eliciting gasps from both Katara and Jackson.

"Gastly, Haunter, an Shuppet!" exclaimed Jackson, as he got into a fighting position. "I see why this place is called Haunted Mansion."

"There are so many!" said Katara, also getting into a fighting stance. "Can we really beat them all?"

"One way to find out." said DJ.

And with that being said, they charged.

DJ charged at the nearest Gastly and attempted a force palm, only to pass through the Gastly as if it were nothing but air.

"Wha-" said DJ as he quickly dodged the Gastly's tongue, which seemed to stretch to impossible lengths (Lick).

"DJ! Fighting and normal type moves don't work on ghost Pokemon!" said Jackson as he fired a dark pulse at a nearby Haunter.

"Dammit!" said DJ as he dodged an approaching ball of dark purple energy (Shadow Ball). "I don't have any other types of moves!"

"Don't worry, we've got you." said Katara as she shot bubbles at a Shuppet.

DJ, reluctantly, stepped back and let his teammates deal with the ghost Pokemon. After a few minutes of this, more than half of the ghost Pokemon were knocked out. Seeing as they were losing, the remaining ghost Pokemon disappeared.

"Did we win?" asked Katara. She was then hit on the side by an unseen force. "What the hell?!"

"They turned invisible!" shouted Jackson as he too was hit by an unseen force. "All ghost Pokemon are able to make themselves invisible!"

"Well how are we supposed to fight them then?!" asked Katara.

"I've got this!" shouted DJ as he once again activated his aura sense. He then saw a Shuppet charging Katara. "Katara! Shuppet on your right!"

Katara then turned and fired a water pulse at her right and hit the approaching Shuppet.

"Jackson, two Haunter right above you!" shouted DJ.

Hearing this, Jackson fired two of his own shadow balls straight up and hit the two Haunter.

This continued for about three more minutes and finally all of the ghost Pokemon were unconscious.

"Ugh, finally!" said Katara, falling to her knees. "That was exhausting!"

"Sorry I wasn't much help." said DJ dejectedly.

"You were a great help." said Jackson, trying to console DJ. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have known where they were."

"Yeah..." said DJ. He then sensed something approaching and instinctively activated his aura sight, and what he saw nearly stopped his heart. Approaching them was a huge horde of Gastly, Haunter, and Shuppet. "INCOMING!"

Looking in the direction that DJ was looking, Jackson and Katara saw the horde, since they were not invisible, and gasped.

"RUN" shouted Jackson as the horde approached.

The trio took off down a hallway, with the horde still in pursuit and gaining.

"Katara!" shouted Jackson. "We need cover now!"

"On it!" replied Katara as she unleashed a smokescreen.

The smokescreen enveloped the room and blinded the approaching horde. The trio then entered and saw the stairs. They made a mad dash for the stair, evading the incoming shadow balls, and exited the floor.

When the trio got their bearings they noticed that they were no longer in the dungeon, but outside looking at the back of the 'house'.

"We made it." panted DJ as he fell to one knee.

"Yeah." said Jackson, also panting. "Let's go report that this dungeon has five floors and head back to the guild house."

"Can we wait for a little bit? I'm still having trouble breathing." said Katara, breathing heavily.

Jackson agreed and they all collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

"Are you OK DJ?" asked Katara in concern. They were sitting next to each other on the couch in the lounge of their guild house, having reported their findings three hours ago. "You look a little pale."

"Yeah I'm fine. Just tired after using my aura sight so much." replied DJ, giving a weak smile. "I'm just glad Alistair canceled training for today!"

"You should practice using it more." said Bertha, who was also in the lounge along with Blitz, Blade, and Drake. "That way you build up endurance so you can use it for an extended period of time."

"I'll keep that in mind." said DJ as he turned his attention to the TV, which was showing a movie about a a Machamp dressed up like a Golbat (a bigger version of Zubat with eyes and a bigger mouth) protecting a city. "I need to learn a new move or something. I was completely useless against those ghost Pokemon."

"You weren't completely useless." said Katara. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have been able to counter all of those ghost Pokemon."

"Still..." said DJ.

Everyone was silent for awhile, content with just watching the movie. Then the silence was broken as Grace walked in and collapsed in one of the armchairs.

"Rough day?" asked Blitz jokingly.

Grace gave him a halfhearted glare before sighing.

"I didn't realize how much a team leader has to do." said Grace. "After they finish their own mission, they have to listen to the reports of the missions that their teammates do, sign off on all of them, and pick missions for tomorrow. I'm mentally exhausted."

"I never realized that Asura did all that." said Katara. "Speaking of which, where is he? We haven't seen him all day."

"He's probably still at the cemetery-" said Blitz before he quickly covered his mouth.

"Huh? Why would he be at the cemetery?" asked DJ.

All of the senior members of the team glared at Blitz.

"Dammit Blitz!" said Bertha as she whacked him over the head with her bone. "We're not supposed to talk about that!"

"Talk about what?" asked Katara, her curiosity, along with DJ's, peaked.

Grace looked at the two junior member briefly before sighing.

"I guess they deserve to know." said Grace as she got up and left the room. After a couple of minutes she returned with a photo. "This photo was taken when Team Stardust was first created. At the time we only had five members. Asura, myself, Jackson, Drake, and...Jet."

She then handed the photo over to DJ and Katara. As they examined it they saw Grace standing next to Asura, who surprisingly looked happy. Next to them was a brown fox-like Pokemon with thick cream colored fur around its neck. They both realized that this was Jackson as an Eevee. Next to him was a stoic looking Gible, which looked like a bipedal shark with blue skin, a red under belly, two horns that looked like jet turbines, and a large fin on the back. It was obvious to the duo that this was Drake. Then there was another Pokemon, that neither of the two recognized, standing next to Asura with a huge smile on its face. It looked to be a cross between a weasel and an otter. It had bright orange fur, a yellow collar, that looked like a small inner-tube, a cream colored stomach, blue fins on its arms, a tail that split off at the end with cream colored fur on each tip, and a cream colored muzzle that had two vertical black lines on each cheek.

"Who's the Pokemon standing next to Asura?" asked DJ.

"That's Jet. A Buizel." replied Grace, a sad look adorning her face. "He used to be part of Team Stardust. I was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He was kind to everyone he met and never judged others. He was very physically strong for a Buizel and could easily throw Bertha across the hall, which he did a couple of times. He was also very mischievous and enjoyed messing with others especially Asura.

"That's an understatement." interrupted Bertha with a chuckle. "When I joined he was always playing pranks on Asura. I remember one time he somehow dyed Asura bright purple."

"I remember that!" laughed Blitz. "He was a true inspiration for pranksters everywhere."

"But despite of that, they were best friends." continued Grace. "He was the one who suggested that we form a team, he even came up with the name."

"I remember that day." said Jackson with a faraway look in his eyes. "I was honestly surprised that he wanted me on the team. I was the runt of my family, and it surprised me that he wanted me on the team. But Jet always treated me and everyone else like an equal."

"He was a dear friend." said Drake, shocking Katara and DJ with the emotion laced in his voice.

"Yes he was." said Blade. "He could always brighten someone's day just by smiling at them.

"He was, by far, the most kind Pokemon that I have ever met." said Grace, a singe tear rolling down her cheek.

"What happened?" asked DJ. "You keep talking about him in past tense, so did something happened."

Everyone was silent for a long time, until Grace spoke.

"He died."

Katara put her hand on her mouth in shock and DJ's eyes widened. He new that being an explorer, but he never heard of an explorer dying before. He then remembered what Team Sunflare told him the other day.

**Flashback:**

"You know..." began Screech, after he finished laughing. "...he wasn't always a jerk."

"Really?" asked DJ in bewilderment.

"Yeah." said Collin. "He was still uptight, but he was a lot nicer. He started acting like the way he is now a couple years ago."

"What happened?" asked DJ.

"I'm not sure." replied Collin.

**Flashback end:**

"How did it happen?" asked DJ, wondering if this incident was the cause of Asura's personality change.

"It's not a day I like to remember." said Grace. "It all started as a simple outlaw mission. We were tasked to apprehend a group of bandits that had been robbing from a local store. Asura, Blade, Jet, and I cornered the bandits in a cave and engaged the in battle..."

**Flashback:**

"Damn these guys are tougher than they look." said Jet as he dodged a slash attack from a porcupine looking Pokemon with golden fur, numerous brown quills on its back, and two large claws on its hands and feet (Sandslash).

"But its nothing that we can't handled." said Asura, who had just sent an electrified fist (Thunder Punch) at a blue Pokemon with a spherical shaped body, two bulbous eyes that protrude from the top of its head, two digit-less feet, two hands that seemed to have white mittens on them, and a large black and white swirl that took up the majority of its body (Poliwhirl).

In all, there were six bandits, two of which were Geodude, a Poliwhirl, a Sandslash, a Hawlucha ( a fairly small bipedal bird-like Pokemon that had red cape-like wings, with green underside, that ended with two three-clawed hands, red chest feathers, white feathers that covered its abdominal area, two yellow feet, a red tail that is connected to its wings, with a green underside, and what looked like a green mask on its face), and, the leader of the group, a Bisharp ( a humanoid Pokemon with a round red and black head that was topped with a golden double-headed ax blade that shrouds its yellow and black face, red shoulder pads over its arms, a black torso that is encircled by two blades, red thighs, two metallic feet that split down the middle that looked almost like hooves, and two arms, each looked like metal gloves that had retractable blades attached). The Hawlucha was unconscious after taking a direct hit from a water pulse, courtesy of Jet, the two Geodude were down after fighting Grace, who was recovering in the corner, the Sandslash was fighting Jet, but could not seem to be able to land a hit, the Poliwhirl was barely conscious after getting hit by Asura's thunder punch, and the Bisharp was engaged in a sword fight of sorts with Blade.

"Give it up Bishop!" said Asura as he launched a blue and purple sphere of energy at the Poliwhirl, effectively knocking it out (Psyshock).

"Yeah!" shouted Jet as he punched the Sandslash in the stomach with a blue,glowing fist, which, when it made contact, caused ice to spread from the point of contact and covered the majority of the Sandslash's body (Ice Punch). "You and your cronies are no match for Team Stardust!"

"Damn you." grunted the Bisharp, now identified as Bishop. "I will not be beaten by brats!"

As he said this he pushed Blade back and slashed him with a purplish blade (Night Slash). Blade grunted in pain as he quickly flew back to recover. Bishop then turned to the two Geodude who were slowly getting up.

"You two!" shouted Bishop. "Bring the place down!"

The two Geodude nodded and began to charge up energy.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Asura as he charged the two Geodude.

"Asura, NO!" shouted Jet. "They're about to use explosion!"

"What?" said Asura as he closed the distance between him and the two Geodude. He then saw that the two Geodude were glowing white. "SHIT!"

Asura skidded to a halt next to the two Geodude and tried to run away, but he knew he would not get far enough from the blast. He braced himself for the explosion, but instead felt paws grab his arm. When he looked up he saw Jet giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry." said Jet.

"What do you..." began Asura, but then he felt Jet's grip tighten and the next thing he knew, Jet had thrown him across the cave towards the rest of the team.

As soon as he landed, Asura looked up and saw Jet looking at him with a sad smile on his face. Asura tried to cry out his name, but the sound was lost when the two Geodude exploded.

The explosion shook the whole cave and caused dust and debris to fly everywhere. When the smoke cleared a pile of rocks was covering the place where Jet once stood.

"JET!" screamed Asura as he attempted to run to the pile of rocks, only to be stopped by Blade. "LET ME GO! WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!"

"The whole place is falling apart!" said Blade. True to his words, the explosion had caused the cave to begin collapsing. Rocks were raining down from the ceiling, the walls were cracking, and the whole cave was shaking. "We have to get out of here!"

"NOT WITHOUT JET!" yelled Asura, tears freely falling down his face.

"There's nothing we can do." said Grace, tears falling from her eyes too.

"NO!" shouted Asura struggling to get to his friend. "I WON'T LEAVE HIM."

Seeing as he refused to move, both Grace and Blade had to drag him out of the collapsing cave.

"NO!" screamed Asura as he struggled to get free. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM! JET! JET!"

**Flashback end:**

"We all managed to get out of the cave unharmed and quickly called Officer Magnezone." said Grace, tears falling from her face as she remembered the incident. "They dug threw the rubble and found the Poliwhirl, the Sandslash, the Hawlucha, and the two Geodude, all of whom were taken into custody (AN: Explosion does not kill the user, it only knocks them out). But they never found Jet or Bishop, though we all assume Bishop escaped. Ever since that day, Asura was never the same. He blamed himself for Jet's death and isolated himself from others. On top of that, he became cold towards everyone close to him. And every year, on this day, he will go down to the cemetery, no matter the weather, and sit in front of Jet's grave for the whole day."

By the end of the story everyone in the room had tears in their eyes.

'No wonder he acts this way.' thought DJ. 'He's probably scared of losing the ones he holds dear, so he pushes them away in hope that, if they die, it won't effect him. But...'

"That's no excuse for acting like that!" shouted DJ, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "It was Jet's choice, so he shouldn't beat himself up over it. Plus I'm sure that, if he were still alive, Jet wouldn't want him to isolate himself. He sacrificed himself so that Asura could live a happy life! Not a life of pain and sorrow. By living that way, he's tarnishing Jet's memory!"

Everyone was speechless from what DJ had just said. The sheer determination and passion in his voice had reached their hearts, and they couldn't help but agree with him. Then he sound of a door opening directed everyone's attention to the door, where Asura had just entered the guild house (AN: He did not hear what DJ said). Without a word to his teammates, or any form of acknowledgment, he walked up the stairs and entered his room. DJ looked at the spot where Asura had stood and promised himself that he would make Asura see the error of his ways and become the nice Pokemon that Team Stardust once knew.


	13. Chapter 13

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 13: New Enemies **

"Come on DJ. You can do better than that." taunted Alistair as he blocked a punch from DJ.

Two days have passed since DJ and Katara learned about Jet and right now DJ is sparring with Alistair after preforming a simple retrieval mission.

DJ grunted in response to Alistair's taunt and lashed out with a kick to Alistair's midsection. Alistair grabbed DJ's foot before it made contact and threw him away. DJ quickly pivoted in midair and landed gracefully on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground he flew at Alistair with launched multiple punches and kicks at Alistair, though none connected.

"OK, that's enough." said Alistair after thirty minutes of endless sparring (AN: Remember, they're Pokemon so they can fight a lot longer than humans.)

Hearing this DJ fell back on his back, gasping for air.

"Damn. I still can't hit you."

Hearing this, Alistair simply chuckled.

"Don't beat yourself up over that. Remember, I do have years of experience over you. Though I have to admit, it's getting harder to block all your attacks."

Hearing this statement DJ smiled a little. He had only been a Pokemon for a short period of time and hearing that he was improving at such a rate made happy.

"Now." said Alistair, snapping DJ out of his musings. "Let's work on your move set. Let's see... your force palm is good, as is your quick attack... how's low sweep coming along?"

"It's coming along." said DJ, remembering the move that Alistair taught him yesterday. "I used it one on the mission and it worked well."

"Show me."

DJ nodded and got into a low stance. He then sent some of his energy into his leg and launched a kick at Alistair's shin, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ouch!" said Alistair as he gave DJ a slight glare. "I never said use it on me!"

DJ just scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Anyway." sighed Alistair. "That was good, but try channeling a little more energy into your leg before you kick. Like I said yesterday, low sweep is a move that is meant to target an opponents legs, much like low kick except, with low sweep, it is also meant to slow your opponents movements. Now... how's aura sphere coming along."

DJ looked down and sighed. "I managed to get it to the point where it doesn't explode on me anymore, but every time I try to fire it at something it dissipates."

DJ held out his paws and created an aura sphere in them. He then fired it at a nearby wall, but when it had gone two yards away from DJ, it slowly lost shape and dissipated.

"See?"

"Hmm... that might be because you're not focusing your aura enough." said Alistair.

"GUH!" shouted DJ, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "Why is this so hard?!"

"Calm down DJ." said Alistair. "You're still learning, plus you shouldn't even be able to make an aura sphere. What you've done now is nothing short of amazing."

"Still..."

"Let's just take a break for now." said Alistair, sitting next to DJ. "So, how has everything been going with the team?"

DJ sighed.

"Things are going pretty well. Me and Katara learned about Jet a couple of days ago."

"I remember that." said Alistair as he looked at DJ with a calculating eye. "Do you pity him?"

"Not really. I mean I feel sorry for him and everything, but I feel like he's tarnishing his memory."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, Jet sacrificed so that Asura could live and be happy, but Asura just pushes everyone away and isolates himself. I understand that he's sad, and it's OK for him to morn him, but he should live is life like he use to, the way Jet wanted him to."

Alistair just nodded in agreement, proud that his young apprentice's wisdom. The two sat in silence for a little while longer.

"...Well how about we get back to training?" asked Alistair.

"Sure." said DJ, jumping to his feet.

Alistair chuckled at his apprentice's enthusiasm. "OK then. This time moves are allowed."

"Oww." groaned DJ as he sat down in one of the armchairs in the guild house lounge.

"Tough training?" asked Jackson with a chuckle.

"You have no idea." said DJ as he sunk further into the armchair. "We were using moves during our spar. Who knew bone rush hurt so much."

"Ouch." said Jackson.

"I know how you feel. Bone rushes hurt." said Blitz glaring at Bertha who scoffed.

"I wouldn't hit you so much if you didn't bother me so much."

"I wouldn't bother you so much if you didn't annoy me."

"_I_ annoy you?! Well you can go-"

"Both of you shut up." said an irritated Asura. "You're both annoying."

Both Blitz and Bertha became silent at this.

"Sorry Asura. We were just messing around." said Blitz.

"There is no room for senseless nonsense on this team." said Asura coldly.

DJ was about to say something along the lines of, 'Really, there's no senseless nonsense on _this _team?' but before he could Grace interrupted.

"Hey where's Katara?"

"She left earlier, after we had gotten done with our mission." said Jackson. "She said something about wanting to buy a new scarf."

Many of the guys groaned at this and the females nodded in understanding. Grace then looked outside and saw that the sun was setting.

"Hmm. It's getting late...DJ, go out and look for her please."

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because you can use your aura sight to find her faster than anyone else." said Grace, rolling her eyes.

"*sigh* Fine." said DJ as he got up, wincing slightly, and left in search of his teammate.

"Damn it. I'm not picking her up." growled DJ in frustration. He had been searching for the last ten minutes with no luck. "Where could she- wait is that her."

He then zoomed in about seven yards to his left and saw a Froakie surrounded by three other Pokemon. When he focused more, DJ saw that the Froakie was crying. Without wasting another second, DJ rushed off in that direction.

When he arrived, DJ saw that the Froakie was indeed Katara and she was crying. He also saw that the cause of her tears were the three Pokemon, who were jeering at her.

"HEY!" shouted DJ, gaining the attention of the three Pokemon and Katara. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"DJ..." whispered Katara.

"Who's the pup? One of your loser friends bug eyes?" asked one of the trio. The Pokemon that had just spoken looked like a big purple balloon that was constantly releasing toxic gas. It also had a skull and crossbones on its stomach (Koffing).

"Yeah I'm her friend." growled DJ, even more irritated after being called a pup. "And if you don't leave her alone, I'll make you regret it!"

"Oh yeah?" sneered the second Pokemon with a dark purple body with pale blue gemstone-like eyes, one red stone on its stomach, two stones on its back (one blue and one red), it also had sharp teeth, and claws (Sableye). "And what will _you_ do."

"If you don't back off," warned DJ, forming an aura sphere in his paw which caused the Sableye and Koffing to gasp while the third Pokemon got a greedy glint in its eye. "I will shove an aura sphere up your asses!"

"Interesting." said the third Pokemon calmly. This Pokemon was made up of two gray rocks that were connected by an orange body. It also had two legs, four arms (two of which are on its shoulders), each of those limbs were orange with brown stripes, and head that looked like a clawed hand. The hands of the Pokemon each had three claws and an eye on each palm (Barbaracle). "A Riolu that can use aura sphere, that's something you don't see everyday. What's your name pup?"

"What's it to you?" growled DJ.

"Now, now." said the Barbaracle as he put his hands up in a placating manor, showing the eyes that were on his palms. "Let's be civil here. I just want to know your name."

DJ eyed the Barbaracle warily before deactivating his aura sphere and answering.

"It's DJ."

"DJ? An odd name for a Riolu." said the Barbaracle. "My name is Shell, the two behind me are my teammates, Smoke (the Koffing) and Dusk (the Sableye). We are Team Desolation.

"I honestly don't care who you are." said DJ, crossing his arms. "What I want to know is why you are messing with Katara."

"Oh we were just finishing what our fathers started." said Shell, casting Katara sideways glare.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked DJ.

"It does not concern you pup." said Shell, waving off DJ's question. "How about we talk about more pressing matters."

"Pressing matters?"

"Yes. The matter of you joining our team."

It was silent until...

"W-what?!" said Katara, tears still running down her face.

Shell then turned to Katara and gave her an icy glare.

"I wasn't talking to you trash." snarled Barbaracle, smiling when Katara flinched and looked away. He then turned to DJ, who was standing there in shock. "So what do you think little pup?"

"I think..." said DJ, getting over his shock. "That you must be crazy to think that I would join you after the way you've treated my friend!"

At this Shell snarled at DJ.

"Why do you concern yourself with trash like her."

"That 'trash' as you call her happens to be my friend and teammate, and I you continue to insult her I will make you regret it."

"Like you could hurt the boss." sneered Smoke.

"Yeah, you probably couldn't even scratch the boss." said Shard, giving DJ a sharp toothed grin.

"That's enough you two. I'll handle this." said Shell, stepping closer to DJ until he was towering over him. "You said that she is your teammate, that means that you joined Team Stardust correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" said DJ.

"That team is full of weaklings that will only hold you back." he then extended his hand to DJ. "You have a lot of potential. Don't throw it all away by staying with that pathetic team. Join my team and I will make you strong."

DJ stared at Shell's outstretched hand, making Katara fear that he would except Shell's offer. DJ stared at the hand for a few seconds longer before smacking the hand away.

"I would sooner eat my own tail than join you!" shouted DJ defiantly.

"Don't be a fool." growled Shell.

"I'd rather be a fool then be a part of your team! Now get out of here before I get mad!"

"Oh, but we don't want to leave just yet. Do we boys?" said Shell in a sinister tone as he gestured to his teammates, who stood next to him grinning sinisterly. "If you are not with us you're against us, and all those that are against us shall be destroyed."

DJ tensed and got into a fighting stance, prepared to fight all three at once until a familiar voice came from behind Team Desolation.

"What seems to be going on here?"

Everyone turned and saw Garfield of Team Odd Squad approaching them. Seeing him approaching, Team Desolation immediately stood down.

"We were just having... a disagreement." said Shell sneering at DJ.

"A disagreement you say?" said Garfield glancing at Katara, who had tear stains on her cheeks. "This argument wouldn't happen to be about your father would it?"

At this, Shell spun around and glared at Garfield.

"It doesn't concern you." hissed Shell.

"Oh I believe it does." said Garfield stepping closer to Shell. "You see, your argument involves two of my kid brother's teammates, one of which I happen to know personally, and I would hate to see you do something to them that you would regret."

"Is that a threat?" growled Shell.

"No. It's a promise." Garfield then leveled a glare at the Barbaracle. "If you're not careful you could end up like your father."

At this, Shell roared in anger and lifted an arm in the air. His clawed hand then became surrounded with a glowing blue aura and extends into what looked a sword (Razor Shell) (AN: I don't know what it looks like when a Barbaracle uses razor shell so I described what I thought it would look like). Shell then shoved the glowing 'blade' at Garfield and it went right through him. At this sight, Katara screamed while DJ gasped in shock. Even Dusk and Smoke looked slightly disgruntled at this display. Shell seemed to smirk (though you couldn't tell since he has no visible mouth), but then his eyes widened in shock when Garfield poofed away.

"Wha-" began Shell before Garfield burst out of the ground and hit Shell in the face, sending him flying back. "How did you do that?!"

"Very carefully." said Garfield with a completely straight face. He then crouched down so that he was looking Shell right in the eye. "Now I'll excuse that last attack if you and your team get out of here right now. If not, there _will_ be trouble. Do I make myself clear?"

Shell didn't say anything, he just glared at Garfield. When Shell didn't answer, Garfield's tail glowed silver and pointed directly at Shells throat (Iron Tail).

"Do I make myself clear?" repeated Garfield, glare intensifying.

"Crystal." growled Shell.

As Garfield let Shell up, he turned to his two teammates.

"Let's go." he then turned to DJ. "When you come to your senses, come and find me and I might let you join."

"My answer won't change." said DJ, giving Shell a glare.

Shell just scoffed at this statement, and then turned to Katara and glared.

"We're not finished yet. You better watch your back."

DJ then stepped in front of Katara, shielding her from the glare.

"Leave." snarled DJ at Shell.

Shell gave DJ a piteous look and left with his two cohorts. As soon of they left Katara broke down into renewed sobs.

"Hey, hey it's OK." said DJ as he rushed to Katara's side. "Don't pay attention to anything those bastards say."

"B-but they're right." said Katara, through her tears. "I-I'm nothing b-but trash."

"DON'T EVER SAY THAT!" yelled DJ angrily, surprising Katara. DJ took a deep breathe to calm himself before looking Katara in the eyes. "Don't ever say that. You're not trash. You're a member of Team Stardust and my best friend."

"B-but I'm nothing but a c-coward..." argued Katara.

"Would a coward charge a Druddigon, in the attempt to save someone that they just met not five minutes prior?" asked DJ with a small smile. Hearing this, Katara couldn't help but smile. Seeing her smile, DJ's smile grew. "See. You're not a coward. You're the bravest Pokemon I know, so cheer up."

"O-OK." sniffed Katara. She then gave DJ a hug. "Thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" said DJ, slightly blushing.

"*Ahem*" coughed Garfield, startling DJ and Katara, who forgot he was there. "I hate to break up this moment..." As he said that, the two realized their...situation and broke apart, both blushing. "... but can one of you tell me what that was about."

"I'm not really sure." said DJ, his face still red. He then explained what he had witnessed, when he got there and when he was using his aura sight. "...And then you showed up."

"Hmm." said Garfield. He then turned to Katara. "The 'argument'... it was related to your fathers wasn't it."

"Yes." whispered Katara.

Garfield nodded in understanding, but DJ was still lost.

"What does this have to do with their fathers?"

"You see, Shell's father was a notorious outlaw who was arrested by Katara's father." said Garfield.

"WHAT?!" shouted DJ. "And Guild Master Gallade _let_ him join the guild?!" (AN: The members of Tobias' guild call him Guild Master Gallade as a sign of respect.)

"Guild Master believes in giving everyone a chance no matter what who their family is." said Garfield with a slightly annoyed tone. "Though he is on probation, he basically has the same rights as the other guild members."

"But he holds a grudge against Katara for what her father did." said DJ. "When guild Master finds out-"

"NO!" shouted Katara, gaining the attention of DJ and Garfield. "I don't want you to tell anyone."

"But-"

"Please." pleaded Katara. "I don't want you to tell anyone. It's my problem. I'll deal with it."

DJ looked at Katara for awhile before sighing.

"Fine, but if he messes with you again." said DJ, cracking his knuckles. "He'll answer to me."

Katara giggled at this and DJ smiled, thankful that Katara was no longer sad. He then turned to Garfield.

"Thanks for the help Garfield, but why exactly are you here."

"No problem." said Garfield nonchalantly. "I was just walking by and I heard a commotion so I decided to see what's up. Anyway I should be going, before Davis throws a fit."

"K. Tell the others I said hi."

Garfield waved good by and left, leaving DJ and Katara alone.

"So, shall we head back." asked DJ.

"You promise not to tell the others?" asked Katara, concern laced in her voice.

"*sigh* Fine." said DJ.

Katara smiled and she and DJ headed back to the guild house.

**Team Desolation's guild house:**

"What are you going to do about that little pup boss?" asked Dusk.

"First things first." said Shell. "We must make that pathetic excuse for a Froakie pay."

"But boss." said Smoke. "Why do you want revenge on that Froakie?"

"Because, I can't get revenge on Surge. So his daughter is the next best thing."

"But, you hate your father, so why get revenge at all?" continued Smoke.

"It's not because I like him. It's the principle of it." said Shell. Seeing the look of confusion on his teammates face, Shell sighed in annoyance. "You see, by defeating my father, Surge brought shame upon my family. And the only way for me to regain my family's honor, is for Surge to pay, or in this case, his daughter."

"So what are we gonna do boss?" asked Dusk.

"Hmm. We can't do anything personally because we're on probation." said Shell, thinking. Then his eyes lit up, and if he had a mouth it would be twisted in a sinister smile. "I have an idea. I can call up a friend of my father to help out. *Hehehehe* That pathetic Froakie won't know what hit her."

**With DJ and Katara:**

"Achoo!" sneezed Katara.

"You OK?" asked DJ.

"Yeah. It's probably just dust." said Katara, unaware of the plans against her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 14: Rage**

A week after their encounter with Team Desolation, DJ and Katara are at Quake's farm, along with Jackson, assisting him with his...pest problem.

"Katara, behind you!" shouted DJ as he used force palm on an incoming Mightyena.

Katara quickly turned just in time to dodge the fangs of a Mightyena. She then launched a water pulse at the offending Mightyena, pushing it back.

"There are a lot more of them than last time." said Jackson as he blasted a Mightyena with dark pulse.

"Yep." said Quake as he slammed his two arms, that were glowing with energy, into two Mightyena (Hammer Arm). "I haven't seen this many before. But we're gonna have to hold 'em back."

The four of them continued to fight off the pack of Mightyena. Then one of the Mightyena slipped past them and charged at one of the Miltank.

"DJ!" shouted Jackson, alerting DJ to the problem.

DJ turned and saw the Mightyena heading towards the Miltank and nodded in understanding. DJ then used quick attack to run after the Mightyena. Seeing the approaching Mightyena, the Miltank ran in every direction. The Mightyena closed in on one of the stragglers and was about to bit it when its feet were swept out from under it. The Mightyena looked up in time to see a blue paw slam into its face.

"Damn, that was exhausting." said Katara.

They had been fighting for the past twenty minutes against the pack of Mightyena. They were all currently laying on the ground, breathing hard.

"You can say that again." said DJ

"Damn, that was exhausting." repeated Katara cheekily.

DJ gave her a halfhearted glare.

"Don't be a smart ass." said DJ, earning a laugh from the group.

"Well we should head back." said Jackson, stretching as he got up.

"Well, I can't thank y'all enough for the help." said Quake. "Them Mightyena won't be comin' around here for awhile. I'll be sure to call y'all if they come back."

The trio said their goodbyes to Quake and headed back to Miracle Town.

"Can we stop by that restaurant?" asked DJ. "I want waffles."

"*sigh* What is it with you and waffles?" asked Jackson.

"What can I say, I don't wake up early enough to get something for breakfast so I'm always hungry after our missions. Besides, waffles are amazing." said DJ, drooling sightly.

"You're weird. You know that right?" said Jackson.

"This coming from the one obsessed with the moon." said Katara with a smirk.

"Don't disrespect the moon!" shouted Jackson as he began to rant about the moon, much to the amusement of DJ and Katara, as they continued down the road.

Unbeknownst to the trio they were being watched be two Pokemon hiding in the shadows.

"Which one is my target?" asked one of the duo.

"The Froakie." said the other one as it stepped into the light, revealing itself as Shell. "I want her taken care of. Get the job done by tomorrow and your reward will be substantial."

"Consider it done." said the other Pokemon as it too stepped out of the shadow. As the Pokemon stepped into the light, the Pokemon was revealed as a Shiftry, a brown bipedal Pokemon with a long shaggy white mane that went down its back and covered its face, long ears, a pointed nose, and two fans, made out of leaves, in place of hands. "I swear upon the name of the Shiftry Gang, that the Froakie will be dead by tomorrow afternoon."

Later that same evening, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Katara sat alone in the guild lounge watching TV.

"Damn, Blitz." grumbled Katara as she flicked through the channels. "Tricking me into eating those Chesto berries. Now I can't sleep! I'm going to get him back for this if it is the la-"

Her rant was cut short by a loud knock from the door.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Katara asked herself as she got up and moved towards the door. When she opened the door there was no one in sight. Confused, she stepped outside and looked around for anyone. "What the heck? I could have sworn I-"

Whatever she was going to say next was cut off by a strong hit to the back of her head, sending her into unconsciousness.

Early the next morning, DJ awoke with a loud yawn.

"*yawn* Man I'm still tired." said DJ. He then looked at the clock and saw that it was only five and everyone didn't meet until six . "Damn, I woke up early. A well. At least I have time for breakfast."

DJ got up and tiptoed down the stairs, as to not awaken his still sleeping teammates. As he arrived downstairs he noticed the TV was still on. Chalking it up as Katara simply forgetting to turn it of, he shrugged and turned it off. He headed towards the kitchen with the intent of getting a bowl of cereal, when he noticed a note pinned to the door. Curious, DJ took the note and read it. When he read the note he became shocked, but soon that shock turned into anger and then into fury as he quickly ran out of the guild house, leaving the note on the floor.

A half hour later Asura came downstairs. He always woke up early to get breakfast and to organize the jobs that he picked from the previous evening. As he walked to the kitchen he stepped on a piece of paper. He picked it up and was about to through it away we he noticed writing. He read what was written and paled.

"EVERYONE, GET UP NOW! TEAM EMERGENCY!" yelled Asura, effectively waking up the remainder of the team.

Everyone hurried downstairs, disgruntled about being woken up early.

"What gives Asura?" asked Blitz, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "We still have thirty minutes until we have to meet."

Instead of answering he pushed the note into Blitz's hands. Blitz looked at the note and visibly paled.

"What is it?" asked Blade.

"I-i-it's a ransom note." said Blitz, causing the others to gasp. "It says, '_We have your little Froakie and if you ever want to see her alive again bring thirty thousand poke to the cave near Hedge Forest. Signed the Shiftry Gang._"

"The Shiftry Gang?" asked Grace in a fearful tone. "You mean that group of grass type Pokemon lead by a Shiftry that have committed various thefts, kidnappings, and murders? That Shiftry Gang?!"

"It seems like it." said Asura.

"This is bad." said Drake.

"We have to rescue her!" said Bertha.

"We can't rush into things." said Asura calmly. "First we should alert my father then- Wait. Where's DJ?"

As he said this, everyone noticed that DJ was missing from their group.

"Is he still asleep?" asked Blitz.

"Go check." ordered Asura.

Blitz nodded and hurried upstairs in search of the missing Riolu.

"Why would they kidnap Katara?" asked Grace to no one in particular. "It just doesn't make any since. Shiftry's never gone after guild members before."

"I'm not sure." said Asura truthfully. "But we'll find out."

They all then heard the hurried footsteps of Blitz as he descended the stairs. When they all turned to look at him they saw that DJ was not with them.

"Where the hell is DJ?!" asked Asura.

"He's not there!" said Blitz, panic laced in his voice. "I checked his room and all of upstairs, but he's not there!"

"You don't think that he went after them already, do you?" asked Jackson.

"I'm afraid he probably did." said Asura. "Come on we have to go now!"

**Cave near Hedge Forest:**

"So what do you think of my hideout my dear?" Shiftry asked Katara.

Katara only glared at Shiftry. She had woken up tied up in this cave surrounded by several grass types. The cave she was in was clearly refurbished. It had chests of poke and other items, which she assumed were stolen, scattered everywhere. There was also a door that blocked this particular part of the cave from the other parts. As she continued to look around and saw that the Pokemon that guarded her were made up of two Pokemon that had brown bodies, pointed noses, light brown thighs, light brown faces, and a single leaf on the top of their heads (Nuzleaf), a completely green gecko-like Pokemon with big yellow eyes, a red stomach, and a huge dark green tail (Treecko), and Shiftry himself.

"Not very talkative are you?" asked Shiftry when he did not receive a reply.

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Katara.

"Well you see, I was hired to kill you." said Shiftry calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Hearing this, Katara was completely shocked.

"W-who wants me dead?" asked Katara when she got over her shock.

"Sorry. That's confidential." said Shiftry with a smirk.

"B-but why didn't kill me earlier?" asked Katara, hoping to keep him talking until she could figure a way out this situation.

"I was going to, but then I got to thinking. I could use you as a hostage, get a lot of money from your team, and kill them as well as you. Isn't that an amazing plan?"

"Y-you plan on killing my team too?" asked Katara, clearly disgusted by this.

"Of course." said Shiftry as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The more the merrier I always say."

At this the two Nuzleaf snickered sinisterly while the Treecko looked at Shiftry in disgust and contempt. The Treecko had only joined Shiftry because as a tribal Pokemon (Pokemon that live in the wild, but a sentient), when their Alpha is defeated, the members of that tribe are forced to follow the one who had defeated the Alpha. Shiftry had recently come to Hedge Forest, in search of a hideout, and encountered the Treecko's tribe, which was a fairly small tribe, consisting of seven Pokemon in total. Their tribe was a peaceful one and would not have fought Shiftry, but he killed several of Treecko's tribe including their Alpha, a Tropius (a large quadruped Pokemon with a long neck, a brown body wrapped in leaves on its chest and head, four large leafs on its back that resembled wings, and banana-like fruit that grew around its neck). Tropius was a kind leader who treated everyone nicely, even those from other tribes and civilized Pokemon, and though he welcomed Shiftry into their area, Shiftry killed him for the fun of it. The Treecko hated Shiftry, but do to the ancient laws of the tribal Pokemon, he was forced to join him. He truly felt sorry for Katara, who was silently crying in despair, and wished to help her, but couldn't do to his new 'Alpha's' orders. All of a sudden there was an explosion from outside the room that they were in.

Hearing this, Shiftry picked up a radio and called one of his guards that he had posted outside.

"Report! What's happening?!"

There was nothing except static for a few minutes then a someone picked up.

"We're under attack!" shouted the voice. "They've already taken out half of us!"

"How many of them are there?!" shouted Shiftry.

"Just one. He's a-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by another explosion and a scream.

There was silence. No one in the room made a sound. The two Nuzleaf were frightened, Shiftry was annoyed, the Treecko was impassive, and Katara was hopeful. Seeing Katara's hopeful expression, he spoke.

"Don't get your hopes up. Even if they get past my gang they still have to face those three." said Shiftry, indicating to the two Nuzleaf and the Treecko. "They're the strongest of my gang next to me. And if by some miracle they lose, your little friend will still have to fight me, so don't-"

Shiftry was cut off by a loud banging coming outside the door. Everyone turned and looked at the door in anticipation. There was another bang and the door shook and began to break. There was again silence then the door completely shattered. Then a single Pokemon walked in, covered in several cuts and bruises. And as they focused on the Pokemon that had just entered, Katara gasped as she recognized the Pokemon.

"DJ?!" gasped Katara.

DJ didn't respond, he just glared at Shiftry. Shiftry, on his part, was a little unnerved from the Riolu's glare and began to sweat a little. He then looked behind DJ and nearly gasped. What he saw was the rest of his gang either unconscious or injured to the point where they could not move. He was truly shocked that he was able to take out his entire gang, even though they were incredibly weak. In truth, the only reason he kept them around was to intimidate his enemies, but still. He didn't think that a single Pokemon could beat them all.

"I'm impressed." said Shiftry looking back the Riolu. "To beat that many Pokemon by yourself is truly an amazing defeat."

"I take it your the bastard that's in charge here." said DJ, his glare intensifying.

"That is correct young pup." said Shiftry, taking a mock bow. "I am Shiftry, leader of the Shiftry Gang. And you are?"

"I'm DJ of Team Stardust." said DJ. "And I'm hear to take Katara home and take you into custody!"

"Really?" asked Shiftry. "You think that you can beat me _and_ my elite guards? HA! Don't make me laugh."

"If your so called 'elite guards' are anything like those other Pokemon they'll go down just as fast." said DJ.

"We shall see." said Shiftry. He then nodded towards his guards and the battle was on.

One of the Nuzleaf charged DJ in hopes of beating him himself. When it was three yards from DJ it disappeared and reappeared behind him then hit DJ in the back (Faint Attack). As DJ fell he sent energy into his leg and delivered a spinning low sweep to the Nuzleaf's gut. Do to the attack being super effective, the Nuzleaf to a lot of damage and fell on its knee, clutching its stomach. Not missing a beat, DJ got to his feet and used force palm on the Nuzleaf, effectively knocking it out. The other Nuzleaf launched a bunch of leaves at DJ (Razor Leaf). DJ saw the attack coming and dodged it before charging the Nuzleaf and using force palm with both of his hands. The impact of the force palms sent the Nuzleaf flying, but before it hit the ground DJ had used quick attack to appear above the still airborne Nuzleaf. He then launched a kick at the Nuzleaf, sending it crashing to the ground. DJ then fell towards the Nuzleaf and used force palm on the downed Nuzleaf, embedding it into the ground. Everyone was astonished by how quickly DJ dispatched to two Nuzleaf, even Katara.

'Is that really DJ?' Katara asked herself. 'His attacks were so... brutal. I've never seen him fight like that.'

"Those two are of no consequence." said Shiftry. He then turned to the Treecko. "You. Get rid of him."

The Treecko nodded reluctantly and charged DJ with quick attack, catching him off guard. DJ was pushed back by the quick attack, but didn't have time to recover as the Treecko had swung its overly large tail at DJ (Pound). DJ quickly jumped back to avoid the attack. He then quickly used low sweep in hope s of unbalancing the Treecko, however, the Treecko jumped over DJ's leg and shot seeds out of his mouth at a surprised DJ (Bullet Seed). DJ crossed his arms across his body to defend against the barrage of seeds. When the Treecko finally stopped his barrage of seeds, DJ was still standing. Treecko made to use bullet seed again, but DJ used quick attack to get right in front of him.

"Get out of my way!" shouted DJ as he slammed his palm into the Treecko's stomach. DJ then released the energy in his palm and sent the Treecko flying.

The Treecko hit the wall and slumped to the ground. It looked like he was down for the count until he shakily got to his feet, breathing hard. He was surprised at the ferocity of the Riolu's attack. When he looked in DJ's eyes all he saw was anger and it unsettled him.

"You are strong." said the Treecko. "But I'm afraid that I have to beat you."

DJ didn't respond, he only glared. Treecko lunged at DJ, attempting to use pound, but DJ caught Treecko's tail and slammed him into the ground. DJ then slammed his palm into the Treecko's stomach and used force palm. The Treecko gasped as the attack caused the air to leave his lungs. Before the Treecko could even react, DJ had kicked him in the side hard enough for him to be pushed back several feet. The Treecko just laid there in pain, unable to get up.

'This Riolu,' thought the Treecko as DJ approached his prone body . 'Is not normal!'

But before DJ could do anything a strong wind sent him and the Treecko flying into a wall, doing major damage. When they landed, the Treecko lost consciousness and DJ was trying to stand, his injuries from his previous battles and the damage done from the wind impeding his movements.

"I how'd you like my gust attack." said Shiftry as he walked towards DJ, a sadistic smile on his face. "Now, how about we have some fun."

DJ growled in defiance and charged the Shiftry. Shiftry only smirked and unleashed another gust attack, sending DJ flying into the air. He then jumped after DJ and slashed him with his leaf fans, which were glowing green (Leaf Blade). DJ cried out as he as the attack sliced through his flesh, blood spilling from his wounds. This made Shiftry smile almost hungrily as he blasted DJ back towards the ground with a green sphere of energy (Energy Ball). DJ slammed into the ground and gasped as the air left his lungs. Shiftry landed next to him and kicked DJ, who was completely under the mercy of Shiftry, into the air. As DJ soared through the air Shiftry launched a dark pulse at him. Though the dark pulse was not very effective, the force of the attack slammed DJ against the wall. DJ stuck to the wall for a few seconds before falling face first into the ground.

"DJ!" shouted Katara as she stared in horror at DJ's unmoving body.

"Such a shame." said Shiftry, turning away from DJ and walking off. "I was hoping he'd last longer."

Shiftry then heard a cough from behind him. He turned slowly and saw DJ trying to stand.

"I won't lose here." said DJ as he continued to struggle.

"I'm surprised that you survived. I have to say, I'm impressed" said Shiftry. His face then broke into a maniacal grin. "For impressing me I will give you an award."

At this both DJ and Katara looked at him in confusion. Shiftry's grin grew even wider at this.

"I will let you watch as I kill your friend." said Shiftry, slowly walking towards Katara, his grin never fading

At this Katara's eyes widened in fear as she struggled against her bonds.

"NO!" shouted DJ, trying desperately to stand. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

"You are not in any position to make demands." said Shiftry as he approached Katara. Shiftry towered over Katara, his grin stretching across his whole face. He raised his right arm and his leaf fan glowed green. "This is the end of you!"

Katara's eyes winded even more and tears of despair. Shiftry brought his arm down, intent on killing the Froakie.

"NOOO!" screamed Katara in fear as the leaf blade came down upon her. She closed her eyes, for what she thought would be the last time, but she never felt anything. When she didn't feel the leaf blade hit her, she opened one of her eyes and saw that the glowing blade had stopped an inch from her face. She looked up at Shiftry and saw that he was looking at something behind him, fear etched into his face. When she looked around Shiftry she saw something that nearly stopped her heart. "DJ..."

Shiftry, as he was about to kill Katara, had looked at DJ to see his expression as he killed his friend. What he saw was a dark blue aura began to surround DJ. Not only that, but a strange feeling of dread and anger seemed to emanate from the Riolu, which caused him to halt in his 'execution'. DJ then stood as if he had no injuries and growled at Shiftry. Seeing this surprised both Katara and Shiftry, though Shiftry didn't show it.

"Well this is a surprise." said Shiftry, attempting to hide his fear. "If you think that this will help you, you are sorely mista-"

Shiftry was interrupted by DJ appearing in front of Shiftry and using force palm on Shiftry, sending Shiftry flying. Shiftry slammed into a wall and fell to his knees. He looked up, shock written all over his face, and gazed at DJ in shock. DJ growled and slowly walked towards, like a predator stalking its prey. Shiftry got to his feat and shot an energy ball at DJ. DJ just stared at the approaching ball of energy and when it got close enough he batted it away with his paw, surprising both Katara and Shiftry.

"H-how." stuttered Shiftry.

Instead of answering, DJ charged Shiftry with quick attack and slammed Shiftry into the wall. Shiftry quickly recovered and dodged a force palm that destroyed part of the wall. Shiftry got behind DJ and blasted him with dark pulse. The attack hit DJ directly and exploded, throwing up dust and debris. Shiftry grinned, confident that he had finally beaten the Riolu, but his grin quickly disappeared when the dust cleared, revealing a severely pissed off DJ. Quickly getting over his shock, Shiftry swung his fans creating a gust that hit DJ dead on. Shiftry kept up the gust, intent on blowing DJ away, but DJ did not budge from his spot. DJ then growled at Shiftry and formed an aura sphere in his paw, shocking Shiftry. DJ then held up his paw and shot the aura sphere at Shiftry. Shiftry tried to increase the intensity of his gust, but the aura sphere cut through the winds and slammed into Shiftry, pushing him into the wall and then exploding. When the smoke cleared Shiftry was on the ground, barely conscious. Katara looked at DJ in shock as he stalked towards the downed Shiftry.

'Since when can DJ launch an aura sphere?' thought Katara. 'This DJ...is not the DJ I know."

Seeing DJ approaching, Shiftry began to cower in fear, attempting to flee, but unable to do to his injuries.

"W-hat are you?" asked a fearful Shiftry.

DJ didn't answer. He only growled and used force palm on Shiftry, pushing him into the ground and knocking him out. DJ then presided to use force palm after force palm on Shiftry, pushing him further into the ground. Seeing this display of brutality, made Katara slightly sick. After a few more seconds of this, Katara couldn't stand it anymore.

"DJ! Stop!" shouted Katara, tears in her eyes.

DJ stopped and turned to look at Katara, his eyes still full of hatred and anger. He then slowly began to approach Katara, who began to fear for her life. Then suddenly the aura that surrounded DJ dissipated and DJ collapsed. Katara just stared at DJ's unconscious body, incapable of doing anything to help as she was tied up. She then heard hurried footsteps come from outside the room and when she looked towards the entrance she saw the rest of Team Stardust, Tobias, and Alistair. When they entered Grace and Blade rushed to Katara's side and cut her free, Blitz and Jackson went to check on DJ, and everyone else surveyed the destruction.

"Katara." said Tobias, with a sense of urgency in his voice. "What happened here?"

"D-DJ." stuttered Katara, still in shock over what she had just witnessed. "H-h-he beat them all."

Everyone's eyes widened at this and they all gazed at DJ's prone form.

"He did all this?" asked Alistair.

Katara merely nodded as she was helped to her feat. Tobias and Alistair shared a look, before Alistair picked up DJ and carried him out of the cave. Everyone else followed a short distance behind him, all of them wondering what DJ was truly capable of.


	15. Chapter 15

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 15: DJ vs Asura**

Team Stardust, Alistair, and Tobias all crowded around the bed of one sleeping DJ. They had rescued him and Katara the day before and DJ was still unconscious. They brought him to Nurse Audrey so that she could look him over, but to her amazement, the majority of DJ's wounds had already healed. At the moment he was only exhausted and Audrey said that he would wake soon. After they were sure that DJ would be OK they questioned Katara about the events that had taken place. She told them how she was captured, Shiftry's plan, and how DJ came in and beat everyone, thought she left out the part about the dark blue aura that surrounded DJ, because she was not sure of what she saw. She even told them about Shiftry's mysterious employer. Everyone was stunned to hear that DJ was able to beat Shiftry's gang and Shiftry himself by himself.

"He really beat them all by himself?" asked Audrey in bewilderment. "What did you teach him Alistair?"

"And can you train me too?" added Blitz, half jokingly. This statement earned him a whack over his head, curtsey of Bertha.

"I'm afraid there wouldn't be much I could teach you. I'm only good at teaching DJ because I used to be a Riolu." said Alistair with a chuckle. "As to what I am teaching DJ, I've only taught him how to fight, low sweep, and how to use aura sphere, and he still cannot use that properly."

"Really, that's all?" asked Audrey glancing at DJ. "Then how did he manage to take down fifteen plus Pokemon."

"As Katara said, Shiftry claimed that his gang was in fact weak." pointed out Blade.

"But still, that's an incredible feat." said Jackson

Alistair crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking. He then opened his eyes and looked at Katara.

"Katara, what was DJ's state of mind when he rescued him?"

"Huh?" asked Katara.

"Let me reiterate. What emotion was he feeling. I know that you two are linked emotionally so you are the best one to ask."

"He was...angry." said Katara as she remembered the feeling of hatred and rage that rolled off of DJ, causing her to shudder. "I've never seen him so angry. It was so bad that even Shiftry felt it."

"I see." said Alistair, nodding his head. "That explains it."

"What does it explain?" asked Grace, curiously.

"You see, rage is a powerful weapon to all Pokemon." said Alistair. "Rage (not the move) allows a Pokemon to tap into power that they have never used before, thus making them stronger. DJ most likely sensed Katara's fear and became infuriated, causing him to go on a warpath."

"Yes, that must be it." said Tobias, almost as if he was trying reassure himself, though if anyone noticed they didn't say anything.

Audrey left to see to her other patients and everyone else remained, making small talk. Throughout the whole conversation, Katara said nothing. She still felt guilty about making everyone worry and causing DJ to get hurt. Throughout the whole fight, all she could do was watch as DJ risked his life to save her. Tears began to form in her eyes as she continued to, mentally, beat herself up over the incident.

'I'm so sorry DJ.' thought Katara as her tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks. 'If I were stronger than you wouldn't have had to risk your life like that. I swear to you that I will make it up to you.'

A few more minutes passed and DJ finally began to stir.

"He's waking up." said Katara to the others when she heard DJ begin to stir. "DJ? Are you awake?"

"Ngh." said DJ as he slowly opened his eyes. "Ugh. What happened."

"You're OK!" exclaimed Katara as she hugged him tightly.

"Katara...can't breathe!" said DJ. Katara quickly let go and DJ regained his bearings. He looked around and saw that he was in a room, similar to the one he awakened in when he first became a Pokemon, surrounded by his team, Alistair, and Tobias. "Uh, what's going on?"

"You don't remember what happened?" asked Tobias.

DJ closed his eyes and thought hard about what had occurred the day prior.

"I remember reading that ransom note and rushing off to Hedge Forest. But when I got there everything got weird."

"Weird how?" questioned Alistair.

"It's like I remember fighting Shiftry and his gang, but... It was like I was watching it happen from my own point of view, but I had little to no control over my body."

"Rage can do that." said Alistair placing a paw on DJ's shoulder.

"But still..." said DJ, shuddering at the memory. "It felt so weird."

"It's in the past now." said Tobias, smiling slightly. "Just worry about the future. Like what your punishment will be for rushing off on your own." This statement caused DJ to pale and sweat profusely. "Let's see. You ran off on your own to fight against a group of notorious criminals, without notifying your team leader, in order to save one of your comrades. I believe a slap on the wrist will suffice."

DJ sighed in relief that he would not be punished.

"Thank you Guild Master." said DJ.

"However." Tobias said suddenly, gaining DJ's attention. "If you ever do anything this foolish again, there will be consequences. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes sir!" said DJ.

"Good." said Tobias, smiling at DJ. "You can leave as soon as Audrey gives you the OK. Speaking of which..."

At that moment, Audrey walked in and saw that DJ was awake.

"Ah, it seems that you're finally up." said Audrey. She then presided to check DJ's injuries and found that they had mostly healed. "OK, you're good to go. Just make sure that you don't overexert yourself."

"OK. Thank you." said DJ as he got out of the bed.

DJ then left along with Team Stardust, however before Katara could leave, Tobias called her back.

"Katara, could I speak with you for a moment?"

"OK." said Katara, reentering the room. "What did you want to speak with me about."

"When you saw DJ, was there anything...off about him?" asked Tobias.

"Huh?"

"What I mean is did you see anything different about him when he was fighting Shiftry?"

Katara looked at him for a moment, contemplating if she should tell him about the dark blue aura that surrounded DJ when he fought Shiftry, but decided against it.

"No. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Are you sure? There was nothing different about him, nothing at all?"

"No. Other than being angry, he was completely normal."

Tobias looked at Katara for a moment, and Katara was worried that he knew that she was holding information.

"...OK then." said Tobias finally. "That's all. You may go."

Katara nodded and ran to catch up to her team.

"OK then." said Asura once they all reached their guild house. "Now that things have calmed down, punishment shall be administered."

"Punishment?" asked Katara. "But Guild Master Gallade said that DJ wouldn't get punished."

"I'm not talking about him, though I disagree with my father's choice." said Asura with a scowl. "I'm talking about yours."

"What?!" asked Katara. "Why am I being punished."

"Because of your stupidity." said Asura. "You foolishly got yourself captured and because of that, one of our teammates was injured. Because of this you will be punished."

"But-"

"No buts! Your idiocy could have gotten us all killed! You're a disgrace to explorers everywhere. Your father would be ashamed of you."

Katara lowered her head in shame, tears freely falling from her face. The rest of Team Stardust were appalled by what Asura had said and believed that Asura was being completely unfair, but only DJ spoke up.

"What kind of shit reasoning is that?!"

"Excuse me?" said Asura in a deadly tone. "Are you questioning my orders?"

"Damn right I am." said DJ. "How the hell is it her fault that she got kidnapped?!"

"She should have fought back or alerted us."

"How the hell was she supposed to do that when she was ambushed by _grass_ types?! No one could beat that many Pokemon when they all have a type advantage on you!"

"Then she shouldn't have opened the door in the first place."

"Who's to say that if she didn't Shiftry and his gang wouldn't have just broken in and taken her anyway?!"

"It doesn't matter." said Asura with a sneer. "I'm the leader and I have the final say."

"Well your decision is wrong." growled DJ.

"And what would you know?" asked Asura with an air of superiority. "You're just some miserable little human who has no memories, friend, or family."

At this, DJ finally snapped and punched Asura in the face, causing Asura to stumble back. Everyone was dead quiet, shocked at what Asura had said and even more shocked that DJ, who seemed kind and hard to anger, had punched Asura.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of your shit Asura." said DJ. "You're constantly putting us down and I'm sick of it! Just because you're mourning doesn't mean you can treat us like trash!"

Asura was stunned at DJ's outburst and said nothing. His eyes then steeled and his whole body tensed.

"Striking your team leader? That's considered insubordination." said Asura, clenching his fists.

"I'm didn't hit my leader." said DJ. "I hit an asshole who needs to be taken down a few pegs."

Both Asura and DJ glared at each other, the tension rising drastically.

"Watch what you say _rookie_." said Asura, saying "rookie" as if it were an insult. "Apologize now and I might just forget what you have said."

"I'd rather die than apologize to an asshole like you." said DJ.

The rest of Team Stardust watched the argument in awe. No one had ever questioned Asura before, and they were afraid that DJ would get hurt. Katara and Grace quickly moved in in hopes of diffusing the situation.

"DJ, please don't do this." pleaded Katara. "Audrey said that you shouldn't overexert yourself. Please stop."

"Asura stop this now." said Grace. "Do not do this."

Neither DJ or Asura paid the two any attention as they continued to glare at each other.

"One last chance." said Asura. "If you apologize now, I'll forget all of this."

"Fine." said DJ. "I apologize...for you being an asshole!"

Asura growled at this statement and launched a thunder punch at DJ and hit him in the gut, pushing DJ back a couple yards. DJ growled and charged Asura with force palm, only for Asura to sidestep out of the way. DJ spun on one foot and used low sweep on Asura, catching him off guard and sending him crashing to the ground. Asura quickly got to his feet and attempted a low sweep of his own, but DJ jumped backwards, avoiding the attack, and used quick attack to charge at Asura. As DJ was closing in, Asura created a bunch off small green spheres and launched them at DJ (Hidden Power). The spheres hit DJ head on and sent him flying back, and before he could recover Asura was upon him. Asura delivered a thunder punch to DJ's face and another one to his stomach, sending electricity throughout DJ's body. DJ gasped in pain, but stood strong and used force palm. Because they were so close, Asura wasn't able to dodge the attack and was sent flying back. Asura got to his feet, extremely angry, and fired a psyshock at DJ. The attack hit DJ head on, exploded, and sent him flying backwards into a tree. DJ cried out in pain and fell to the ground unmoving.

"Pathetic." said Asura, believing that DJ was down for the count. "You're not even worth my time."

Asura then turned around and began to walk away until he heard footsteps coming from behind. He turned just in time to get a force palm to his stomach, sending him back a few yards.

"Don't you ever turn your back on me!" shouted DJ as he used quick attack and slammed into Asura before he could recover.

Asura hit the ground hard, but was on his feet again in a matter of seconds. They both attacked each other with renewed ferocity, neither wanting to lose to the other. The rest of Team Stardust watched the fight with a mixture of shock, fear, and awe.

"Wow, those two are something else." said Blitz in amazement.

"I've never seen Asura so worked up." said Jackson. "This could get bad."

"But DJ is holding his own." said Bertha.

"They're both strong." said Drake. "However, Asura has the type advantage and DJ is still injured from his fight with Shiftry. If it comes down to a battle of stamina, Asura will win."

"Wow Drake." said Blitz with a small smirk. "That's the most I've ever heard you say."

Drake just ignored him and continued to watch the fight.

"DJ..." said Katara.

DJ and Asura continued to fight with ferocity, neither one wanting to lose to the other. After about five more minutes of this, they both stood apart panting, DJ more than Asura because his previous injuries.

"Give it up human." sneered Asura. "There's no way that you can beat me."

"I'll never lose to an asshole like you." said DJ. He then formed an aura sphere in his paws, to which Asura sneered at.

"Oh, please. We all know that you can't fire that. Your just embarrassing yourself. You should just give up now."

To everyone's surprise DJ didn't even try to fire it. Instead he ran at Asura with the intent of ramming it into his chest. Thinking fast Asura lashed out with thunder punch and made contact with the aura sphere, causing a huge explosion that engulfed both Asura and DJ (AN: I do not own Naruto). The shock wave from the two attacks swept over a ten yard radius, forcing Team stardust to shield their faces to keep debris from hitting them in their eyes. When they were finally able to open their eyes they were all shocked at the damage that the two attacks caused. The nearby trees had lost almost all of their leaves, there were few cracks on the side of their guild house, and the ground was heavily scarred and covered in cracks. When they looked towards the epicenter of the explosion, they saw that smoke and dust still filled the air, shielding the two combatants from view. They all stood there with bated breath, waiting for the smoke to clear. When it finally cleared Asura could be seen panting heavily on one knee and DJ was laying face first on the ground. Katara was the first to move as she ran to DJ's side to see if he was OK, and everyone else followed. Grace tried to check Asura's injuries, but he wouldn't let her.

"I don't need you help." said Asura as he stood shakily to his feet. He then presided to walk towards Miracle Town when the sound DJ's voice stopped him.

"So you're just going to turn your back on the ones that care about you?" said DJ, forcing himself to his feat. "Now _that's _pathetic?"

"You have the gall to call _me_ pathetic?!" asked Asura threateningly, as he spun around to face DJ. "You don't know what I've been through, so don't you dare call me pathetic!"

"Actually, I know exactly what you've went through and I've got to say, Jet would be disappointed in you." said DJ, shocking Asura. That shock then turned to fury as he strode forward and grabbed DJ by his collar.

"And what the hell would you know about that?" asked Asura threateningly, as he glared at DJ.

"I know that your being stupid by living you life like this." said DJ, matching Asura's glare. "I understand that you are mourning, but just because your mourning doesn't mean that you have to shut people out! Jet gave his life for you so that you could live and what you're doing isn't living!"

Asura was visibly shocked by these words. He let go of DJ's collar and stepped back.

"You don't know what it's like." said Asura, voice cracking slightly. "It's my fault he died. If I wasn't o careless he would still be alive today! I act like this to punish myself for what I let happen to him. SO HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND THE PAIN I'M GOING THROUGH?!"

"AT LEAST YOU STILL HAVE YOUR MEMORIES OF HIM! YOU CAN REMEMBER ALL OF THE GOOD TIMES THAT YOU'VE HAD WITH HIM! I HAVE NOTHING! I CAN'T REMEMBER ANY OF MY FRIENDS OR FAMILY. HECK, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I HAD ANY FRIENDS OR FAMILY!" shouted DJ, shocking everyone present. He then took a deep breath to calm himself and looked at Asura with pained eyes. "Don't focus on that one horrible moment. If you really want to honor his memory don't punish yourself. He wouldn't have wanted that, he would want you to live your life to the fullest, not being an ass to everyone around you."

Asura gazed at DJ in shock. The words that he had spoken hit him like a hurricane. As he looked at DJ and he was suddenly replaced by an illusion of Jet from when they first met.

"_Come on Asura._" said the illusion of Jet with a warm smile. "_Stop being such a stick in the mud and come and play. You don't want to life alone do you?_"

Asura took step back as if he was hit. The illusion faded and Jet turned back into DJ, who was looking at Asura with sad eyes. Asura stared at DJ for a few more tense seconds before turning and slowly walking towards Miracle Town. Seeing this DJ sighed.

"I guess I didn't reach him." said DJ.

"No. You did." said Drake. "I could see it in his eyes as he left. He heard you. He just needs some time to think."

"Wow." said Blitz, looking at Drake in amazement. "What's with you today? This is the most I've ever heard you talk."

"Idiot!" yelled Bertha as she slammed her bone on Blitz's head. "You're killing the moment!"

"Anyway." said Grace, stopping the argument that would have occurred. "Let's get DJ inside so that I can treat his wounds. I swear, you purposely look for fights don't you?"

"What would give you that impression?" DJ asked innocently, earning a half glare from Grace.

"Just for that remark, you're not going on any missions until _I_ deem you well enough."

DJ gazed at Grace in horror at this comment.

"Let's not be hasty Grace. I was just kidding." said DJ quickly. Grace merely smirked and walked into the guild house. "Grace? Come on. I was just kidding around. Grace? Grace?"

DJ followed her and continued to try to reason with Grace, causing everyone else to laugh as they followed them inside. Drake stood outside as second longer, gazing in the direction that Asura went, before entering the guild house."

About a mile away, Asura was standing an a hill gazing up at the sky. The sun was just beginning to set and the sky was a beautiful shade of orange. Asura just sat there, contemplating about what DJ had said. As he did this, memories of him and Jet sitting upon this very hill talking about random things and laughing without a care in the world.

"Have I really been dishonoring you memory." Asura asked out loud as if Jet could hear him, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "What should I do Jet? What would you do if you were me?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 16: A New Teammate and a Family Reunion**

"I can't believe that we did all that, for a lousy Oran berry!" said Katara as she DJ and Jackson made their way back from a retrieval mission in Seaside Coast. They had been sent there in order to retrieve an Oran berry that had been dropped on the fifth floor. "I mean come on. If they wanted an Oran berry so bad they should have bought one! They're like fifteen poke! Hell, I could have bought him one!"

"Yeah that was annoying, but at least it's done." said Jackson. He then looked at DJ who was in deep thought. He had been silent almost all day and he was worried. "Are you okay DJ?"

DJ snapped out of his musings and turned to Jackson. "Huh? What did you say?"

"I said, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because you have barely anything all day. Is something up?"

"...I was just thinking that maybe I was too hard on Asura." said DJ, looking down. "I've been feeling like this ever since this morning when Asura didn't say anything when he handed out missions. He's been through so much already and I feel like I just made things worse for him."

At this Katara began to laugh openly, causing DJ and Jackson to look at her funny. "Man DJ. You're way to nice. You act all tough, but deep down, you're as sweet as a Teddiursa."

"Hey! I'm not sweet!" said DJ, causing Katara to laugh harder, much to DJ's ire.

"Look, what you said to Asura may have been harsh, but he needed to hear it." said Katara placing a comforting hand on DJ's shoulder. "So don't worry about it. He'll come around."

DJ smiled at Katara. "Thanks Katara. That makes me feel better."

At this Katara chuckled. "See? Like a Teddiursa."

"Hey!" shouted DJ, blushing slightly while Katara and Jackson laughed, and after a little while, DJ joined in.

Just as they finished laughing a figure jumped from the trees and landed a short distance away from the trio, in the shadow of a tree so that they could not see what type of Pokemon it was. The three members of Team Stardust all tensed and prepared to fight if need be, but the Pokemon made no threatening moves. The Pokemon slowly walked out of the shadows and revealed itself to be a Treecko. The Treecko looked straight at DJ and addressed him.

"You. You're the one who defeated Shiftry, correct?"

DJ eyed the Pokemon warily, for only Team Stardust, Alistair, and Tobias knew that he was the one who beat Shiftry. "Yeah, that was me. How did you-" said DJ, but stopped mid-sentence when he realized who this Treecko was. "You were the Treecko that was with Shiftry!"

At this, DJ, Katara, and Jackson got into battle stances, but the Treecko did not look concerned.

"Yes I was with Shiftry because he was my Alpha, but now, you are my Alpha." said Treecko, shocking the trio.

"W-What!" spluttered DJ. "What do you mean _I'm _your Alpha?"

"Just as I said. You are my Alpha." said the Treecko. "You see, I am a tribal Pokemon and the laws of the tribal Pokemon dictate, that should an Alpha be defeated by another to a point where they can no longer fight the one that put the Alpha in that state becomes the new Alpha."

"But DJ didn't permanently disable Shiftry." said Jackson.

"True, but he was the one that put Shiftry in prison." said the Treecko. "Thus disabling him"

"But shouldn't you be in prison too?" DJ asked the Treecko.

"No. I had joined Shiftry's gang about two weeks ago when he butchered my old Alpha and the majority of my tribe." said the Treecko, clenching his fists as he remembered what Shiftry had done. "Do to this, the Magnezone released me and several others of my tribe."

"What exactly is a tribal Pokemon anyway?" asked DJ.

"We are sentient Pokemon that dwell in the wild, away from civilization." said the Treecko.

The Treecko then saw Katara, who was shivering slightly, and remembered her.

"You are the one that Shiftry kidnapped." said the Treecko, seeing her stiffen slightly he continued. "I am truly sorry about what happened to you. Though I was not directly responsible, I feel responsible. I know that there is nothing that I can to to atone for my actions, but for what it is worth, I am sorry."

Katara looked at the Treecko, searching his eyes to see if he was being sincere. "...It's fine. You didn't have a choice, so I don't blame you."

"I thank you. I hope to work with you in the future." said the Treecko.

"Wait." interrupted DJ. "What do you mean by working with her in the future?"

"You work with her, correct?" asked the Treecko.

"Yes..." said DJ.

"Well since you are my Alpha and since you work with her, I will be working with her."

"B-but I never agreed to be your Alpha!"

"It does not matter. You defeated Shiftry and made it so that he is unable to fight, meaning you are my Alpha."

"But...but." stuttered DJ.

"Just let it go DJ." said Jackson. "Just accept him. It's just another member for Team Stardust."

"But I'm not the team leader." said DJ. "Can I even allow members to join?"

"I don't see why not." said Jackson with a shrug (or the best he could do with all of his legs on the ground).

DJ sighed. "Fine. What's your name?"

"My name is Leaf, but you may call me whatever you like Alpha." said the now named Treecko.

"Just call me DJ." said DJ with a sweat-drop.

"I cannot do that Alpha." said Leaf. "You are my Alpha and referring to you as anything else would be improper."

"Look, as your Alpha, I give you permission to call me DJ." said DJ.

"I cannot do that Alpha."

"Ugh. This is going to get old real quick." sighed DJ, much to the amusement of Jackson and Katara.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said a voice from behind the trio and the new member of Team Stardust. "A little runt and his runty friends."

Jackson visibly stiffened at the voice. "No, it can't be."

They all turned and saw a group of five Pokemon. One of them was a bluish black bipedal weasel-like Pokemon with three red feathers for its tail, one red feather behind its let ear, yellow oval markings on its forehead and stomach, and two large claws (Sneasel). Another one was a small panda-like Pokemon with a white furred head, black ears, black circles that surrounded its eyes, a small white puffy tail, a black furred torso, dark gray legs, and a leaf in its mouth (Pancham). The third Pokemon looked like a small teddy bear with short brown fur, a light brown muzzle, and a crescent moon marking on its forehead (Teddiursa). The fifth Pokemon resembled a blue penguin with dark blue feathers that covered its torso and wings/flippers, light blue feathers that covered its legs, face, and wing tips, yellow ridges on the top of its head that lead into a short yellow beak, yellow feet, and four white spots on its body that resembled buttons (Prinplup). The final Pokemon, that looked to be the leader of the group, was a quadruped that was covered in spiky yellow fur and a white ruff around its neck (Jolteon).

Jackson swallowed when he saw the Jolteon. "Volts."

"Hello runt." said the Jolteon with a smirk.

Katara turned to Jackson. "Do you know that Jolteon."

"Yeah." said Jackson, his face becoming emotionless. "His name is Volts. He's my older brother."

"You remember me. I'm so flattered." said Volts. "It's been so long. How are you runt?"

"I told you not to call me that." growled Jackson.

"But I'm just calling you what you are." said Volts with a smirk. He then turned his attention to the three behind Jackson. "Who are those three runt? Some of your loser friends?"

"I'm liking this guy less and less." said DJ.

"Like I care what a loser like you thinks of me." said Volts, earning snickers from his team.

"Yep." said DJ. "Less and less."

"So who are they runt?" asked Volts, ignoring DJ.

"My teammates." said Jackson.

"Oh, that's right." said Volts. "You're part of that team. What was it called again? Team Pixiedust?"

"Stardust." growled Jackson.

"Oh that's right. A loser name for a group of losers."

"And what makes you so high and mighty?" asked Katara venomously.

"Because, we're Vile (Sneasel), Luna (Teddiursa), Bruno (Pancham), Aqua (Prinplup), and Volts. And we are Team Storm." said Volts.

"Really?" deadpanned DJ. "Really? That's the most creative name you guys could think of?"

"It's ten times better than your team name." sneered Bruno.

"At least ours is original!" said Katara. "How many Team Storms are out there? Five? Six?"

"Shut up loser." growled Luna. "We could crush you like the weaklings you are."

Katara then turned to DJ. "I take it back. You are nothing like a Teddiursa."

"Thank you." said DJ, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Hey! What wrong with being a Teddiursa?!" asked Luna.

"Well, if how you act is anything to go by, a lot." said DJ.

"Why you little-"

"Enough!" shouted Volts. "Don't sink to their level."

"Lower yourselves to _our_ level?" asked DJ incredulously. "But you-"

"Just let it go DJ." said Jackson. "He's not worth it."

"What was that runt?" asked Volts threateningly. When he did not receive an answer he smirked. "Just as I thought. Once a runt always a runt."

"Jackson, you can't just let him say those things about you." said DJ.

"I agree with Alpha." said Leaf, who had been silent throughout the whole altercation. "You must defend your honor against this ruffian."

"What'd you call me?" asked Volts.

Leaf gave Volts a blank look. "I called you a ruffian."

"I'm liking you more and more Leaf." said DJ with a smile.

"I thank you Alpha."

"You think you're better than us?" asked Volts. "Our team could beat you losers and the runt any day of the week."

"Oh yeah?" asked Katara. "I bet you that us four can beat you five right now."

"Care to make a wager?" asked Volts, a gleam in his eye.

"Yeah!" said Katara.

"Why am I getting a sudden case of déjà vu." DJ asked himself.

"If you four can beat us, We'll give you one thousand poke each. But if we win..."

"Here it comes." said DJ.

"...You, the Treecko, and the pup join our team and the runt admits that he is weak and will always be inferior to me."

"Deal." said Katara, gaining shocked looks from her teammates.

"WHAT THE HELL KATARA?!" shouted Jackson.

Katara stared at him for a few moments, then her eyes widened in realization. "AHH! WHAT DID I JUST DO?!"

"You just guaranteed that you and your friends would join our team." said Volts with a smirk.

"Sorry guys. I just got caught up in the moment." said Katara.

"You've been spending to much time around Blitz." said DJ with a sweat-drop. "Seriously, what's with Pokemon betting me?"

"Are you done saying your goodbyes?" asked Volts with a smirk. "Now let's do this. Knockout rules okay?"

"Knockout rules?" asked DJ.

"Basically each member sends out one member and they fight and when one faints the next Pokemon from the opposing team goes in and fights the winner." said Jackson.

"That sounds fine with me." said DJ.

"I call first!" said Katara eagerly.

"I'll handle this." said Luna, as he stepped up. "Let's dance little girl."

"You're like the same age as me." deadpanned Katara.

"Well I'm more mature." said Luna, puffing out her chest.

Katara cocked an eyebrow at that statement. "Really?" asked Katara.

"Enough talk. We fight now!" shouted Luna as she charged at Katara.

Seeing Luna approaching, Katara jumped over her head and launched a water pulse at Luna's back. The attack hit Luna square in the back and pushed her into the ground. Luna got to her feat just in time to dodge a bubble attack from Katara and ran at her, her claws glowing white (Slash). Katara sidestepped the attack and used pound on Luna. Luna grunted in pain when the attack hit, but quickly recovered and used another slash attack on Katara, this time slashing Katara across her stomach. Katara cried out and jumped back to avoid anymore attacks. The wound was shallow and only bleeding slightly, so Katara didn't worry about it much (AN: Yes Pokemon in this story bleed, but they heal very quickly. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I assure you that there will be minimal blood). Luna then used frustration and charged at Katara. Just as she was closing in Katara quickly used smokescreen and hid in the smoke. Luna attempted to stop, but couldn't stop in time and got caught up in the smoke.

"Damn you!" shouted Luna as attempted to navigate through the smoke. "Fight me like a mon!"

Just as she said that she was hit from her left. She turned to that direction and slashed in that direction, but hit nothing. She was then hit again from the right, then from behind. This continued for a few more seconds, Katara hitting Luna under the cover of the smoke and Luna attempting to slash at her, but missing. Soon the smoke lifted and the spectators saw a heavily bruised Luna and a smirking Katara.

"That was a cheap trick." panted Luna, glaring at Katara.

"All's fair in love and war." said Katara as she launched a water pulse at Luna.

The water pulse hit Luna and sent her into a nearby tree, knocking her out.

"Looks like I win." said Katara.

"That was amazing Katara!" shouted DJ. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"My mother taught me how to fight without sight." said Katara, lightly blushing, "She said that when I evolved into a Greninja, I will need to be able to fight in complete darkness."

"Awesome!" said DJ.

"Interesting." said Volts, completely disregarding his injured teammate. "You'll make a valuable addition to my team."

"I won't be joining _your_ team any time soon." said Katara defiantly.

"We'll see." said Volts with a smirk. He then turned to Aqua. "Aqua, take her down."

"With pleasure." said Aqua with a smirk.

Katara started the fight by shooting bubbles at Aqua. Seeing the attack, Aqua smirked and let loose a stream of bubbles at the attack, canceling out Katara's attack and hitting Katara with the excess bubbles (Bubble Beam). The bubbles hit Katara, but did little damage. Katara then sent a water pulse at Aqua, but Aqua crossed her wings in front of her. Her wings then glowed silver and resembled metal (Metal Claw). Aqua cut right through the water pulse, shocking everyone but Team Storm.

Seeing Katara's surprised expression, Aqua smirked. "Did you really think that that would work?"

Not waiting for an answer, Aqua rushed at Katara, her beak glowing white (Peck). Katara managed to get over her initial shock and dodge the attack. Katara then used smokescreen and engulfed them both in smoke.

"Do you really think that your little trick will work on _me_?" asked Aqua.

Aqua then raised her wings and beak into the air and a small tornado of water formed and expanded to three times her size (Whirlpool). As the whirlpool increased in size, the smoke was dispersed and Katara got caught up in the whirlpool. Katara tried to cry out, but the water stopped the sound. Aqua smirked and through the whirlpool at a tree, causing the whirlpool to disperse and Katara to hit the tree. Katara got to her feat shakily, only to be hit by a peck attack, curtsey of Aqua. Katara slumped to the ground and fell into unconsciousness.

Aqua then put her foot on Katara and applied pressure. "And you call yourself a water type? Pathetic." said Aqua, applying more pressure.

She was then hit from behind with enough force to send her flying back a few feet. She got to her feet and turned and saw an infuriated DJ.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" asked/yelled DJ.

Aqua merely shrugged, a sadistic smirk plastered on her face. "She was weak, and I crush the weak under my feat. What are you going to do about it little pup?"

DJ growled and made to attack Aqua, but Leaf jumped in his way. "Please my Alpha." said Leaf in an even tone. "Do not dirty your paws with this...filth."

"HEY!" shouted Aqua.

"I will deal with her." continued Leaf, as if Aqua hadn't spoken.

DJ gave Aqua one last glare before carefully picking up Katara. "Fine. Make sure that you make her pay."

"It will be done." said Leaf as DJ carried Katara back over to Jackson.

"So you're going to fight me?" asked Aqua. "You may think that you can win because your type advantage you are sorely mistaken."

Leaf did not answer, instead he jumped at Aqua and hit her with his tail. This move startled Aqua and she fell back. Leaf then delivered another pound attack and hit her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She then rolled out of the way to avoid another pound attack from Leaf. She quickly got to her feat and launched peck after peck at Leaf. However, Leaf avoided each attack with ease. He then used bullet seed and hit Aqua multiple times. Aqua took heavy damage, but used metal claw and hit Leaf in the stomach. Leaf recovered quickly and shot out red beams from its hands that hit Aqua and covered her in red light. When the light faded Aqua fell to one knee.

"What did you do to me?" asked Aqua.

"That was my absorb attack." said Leaf. "With it I can take your energy and use it to heal myself."

"Why you little-"

Whatever she was going to say was cut of when Leaf hit her in the face with another pound attack, knocking her out.

"Way to go Leaf!" shouted Katara, as she had awoken shortly before Leaf knocked her out.

Volts growled and gestured at Vile to enter the battle. Vile gleefully jumped into the battle and slashed at Leaf with fury swipes. Seeing the attack dodged all of the attacks and hit Vile with pound. Th force of the attack skidded back, but his smile never faltered. He then shot out multiple shards of ice at Leaf (Ice Shard). Leaf tried to dodge, but he was caught off guard some of the shards hit him, doing major damage. Vile laughed cruelly and used ice shard again. Leaf, now prepared for the attack, burrowed underground and avoided the attack (Dig). Vile looked around I hopes off finding Leaf, but did not notice the ground breaking under him. Leaf then emerged from under Vile and hit him, sending him into the air. Leaf then capitalized on this and shot Vile with bullet seed. The seeds hit Vile and he crashed to the ground.

Vile then got to his feat and laughed. "This is fun." said Vile with a maniacal grin.

Vile then began to glow white. Leaf tried to use absorb at Vile before he could react, but just as the red beams were about to hit Vile he disappeared and reappeared a little ways away. He then kept disappearing and reappearing (Agility). He then appeared in front of Leaf and hit him with a glowing purple arm (Punishment). The attack hit Leaf hard and sent him skidding back, and before he could recover, Vile unleashed another barrage of ice shards. As soon as the attacks let up, Leaf was on his knees panting. He tried to stand, but fell over, completely exhausted. DJ rushed to his side and threw Leaf's arm over his shoulder and helped him back to where Katara and Jackson were.

"I am sorry Alpha." said Leaf.

"Don't worry about it. We can't win them all." said DJ with a smile. He then turned to Vile and stepped forward. "I've got this one."

"You want to play now?" asked Vile, almost child-like glee, except that there was a sadistic tone laced within his voice. He then lunged at DJ with punishment.

Seeing the move DJ crouched and the move went right over his head. DJ then used low sweep on Vile, causing him to lose his footing and hit the ground. Before Vile could get up DJ used force palm on him and knocked the wind out of him as well as pushing him into the ground. DJ went to do this again, but Vile used ice shard, and because of their proximity, DJ was thrown backwards. Vile quickly got to his feat and lunged at DJ, not moving as fast thanks to the low sweep, and used fury swipe. DJ quickly brought up his arms in defense and held his ground.

"Hehehe." giggled Vile as he slashed at DJ. "This is fun!"

DJ did not respond to this for he was waiting for just the right moment. He then lashed out with force palm when he saw a gap in Vile's defenses. The attack sent Vile back a few feet, but he remained standing though his grin had turned into a frown.

DJ then brought his paws together and concentrated. 'I may not have this move completely down, but at this distance, it should hold up before it dissipates.' thought DJ as he formed an aura sphere, shocking Team Storm and Leaf, and fired it at Vile.

Vile, to surprised to move, was hit by the attack and sent flying back. He hit the ground hard, causing dirt to fly up, and when it dissipated, Vile was unconscious.

"Alpha can use aura sphere?" Leaf asked Jackson. "I thought that Riolu could not use that move (AN: Though Leaf is a Pokemon that does not live in civilization, he is still intelligent).

"DJ is...special to say the least." said Jackson. "He doesn't have the move completely down, but he can still use it in close quarters."

"Very interesting." said Volts, eying DJ with an almost hungry look in his eye. "Your teammates certainly are interesting runt. They'll make excellent additions to _my_ team."

"In your dreams!" said DJ.

Volts merely smirked at DJ before telling Bruno to get in the battle.

"Let's see what you're made of pup." said Bruno.

DJ gained a tick mark on his forehead. "I'm seriously getting sick of Pokemon calling me that." said DJ before using quick attack and hitting Bruno before he knew what happened.

Bruno retaliated by lashing out with a glowing white paws and struck DJ, sending him skidding back (Arm Thrust). Bruno then unleashed multiple punches, that seemed to blur in and out of existence, at DJ (Comet Punch). Each punch hit DJ, but did little damage. DJ then caught both of Bruno's paws, stopping the attack. Bruno, however, smirked at this and grabbed onto DJ as well. He lifted DJ off the ground and threw him behind him (Vital Throw). DJ hit the ground hard, but quickly jumped to his feat and used quick attack and hit Bruno again. Bruno used arm thrust again, but DJ countered with force palm. The force of the two attacks caused a small explosion to occur between them and sent them both flying back. They both it the ground and struggled to get up. DJ recovered first and used a combination of quick attack and force palm to deliver a powerful attack. The force of the attack caused Bruno to plow through the ground, leaving a trench eight feet long. DJ then sent an aura sphere at Bruno, who was still conscious. The aura sphere exploded and when the smoke cleared, Bruno could be seen unconscious.

"Combo breaker." said DJ with a smirk.

"Way to go DJ!" shouted Katara.

DJ turned and smiled at them, only to be hit with a powerful bolt of lightning. DJ screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body. There was then an explosion and DJ was thrown towards the members of Team Stardust where he landed, unmoving.

"DJ/Alpha!" shouted the Jackson, Katara, and Leaf as the rushed to see if DJ was okay.

Jackson then turned to Volts and growled menacingly. "Volts!"

"What?" asked Volts innocently. "It's a knockout battle, which means one fight right after another. It's his own fault for getting distracted." Volts then smiled evilly. "Looks like it's just you and me runt."

"Jackson." said DJ, with a strained voice. "Sorry, I shouldn't have gotten distracted."

"It's not your fault." said Jackson kindly. "You just rest. I'll handle this."

"Make sure you kick his ass." said DJ with a smirk before loosing consciousness.

"I will." said Jackson, steeling up his resolve.

"You think that you can beat me?" asked Volts. "HA! You've never been able to beat me before, how do you expect to beat me now?!"

"I've gotten stronger since then." said Jackson, determination in his eyes. "I'm not the same little Eevee that you used to pick on."

"Oh, please. Just face the facts. You'll always be weaker than me. Give up now or I will hurt you."

"What, you don't want to fight me? Are you scared?" taunted Jackson.

Volts leveled a glare at Jackson. "What was that runt?" asked Volts, his voice dangerously calm.

"I asked if you were scared?"

"I'LL CRUSH YOU RUNT!" shouted Volts as he lunged at Jackson with quick attack.

Jackson quickly jumped over Volts, avoiding the attack, and launched a shadow ball at Volts, hitting him dead on and caused a small explosion. When the dust cleared, Volts could be seen smirking.

"Is that the best you can do runt?" asked Volts cockily.

"Not even close." growled Jackson as he fired several more shadow balls.

Seeing the attacks, Volts fur bristled and shot out multiple needles of yellow energy (Pin Missile). The needles hit the shadow balls and caused them to detonate, causing multiple explosions. Then the pin missiles that had not been destroyed by the shadow ball burst through the smoke and hit Jackson. Jackson winced as he felt the needles hit him, but he fought through the pain and shot out a dark pulse that destroyed the remaining needles and hit Volts. Volts was pushed back several feat, but remained unfazed. He then used quick attack and slammed into Jackson, causing Jackson to fall. Before Jackson could gain his bearings, Volts bit him with electrified teeth (Thunder Fang). Jackson shouted in pain as he tried to shake Volts off, but Volts didn't budge. Thinking quickly, Jackson used psychic on Volts' mouth, forcing him to let go, and then hit him with a close range dark pulse. Volts was sent flying back, but pivoted as he fell and landed on his feat. Jackson then sent a barrage of shadow balls at Volts, but Volts merely smirked and dodged every one of the attacks by using quick attack.

"Come on runt!" taunted Volts as he rushed at Jackson and slammed into him. "You've got to do better than that!"

Jackson growled in response and launched another dark pulse at Volts, only for it to be dodged the same way as the shadow balls.

Volts then yawned, as if bored. "You're boring me runt." said Volts. He then developed a sadistic grin. "I think I'll end this now."

As soon as he said that he fired a massive beam of electricity at Jackson, just like he did to DJ (Thunder). The attack hit Jackson and he screamed in pain. There was an explosion and Jackson was sent flying into a tree.

"Jackson!" shouted Katara as she stared in horror at Jackson's unmoving body.

"Hmph." said Volts as he turned away from Jackson. "Like I said, there was no way that you could beat me."

"Don't be so sure." said DJ, as he had regained consciousness moments ago. "The battle isn't over yet."

"What do you-" began Volts, only to turn to where Jackson had fallen to see him standing shakily on his feat.

The ring on Jackson's forehead then glowed an eery yellow and Jackson's injuries healed before their very eyes. Then the light faded and Jackson was, for the most part, healed.

"W-what was that?!" asked Volts in shock.

"The move I used is called moonlight." said Jackson. "It works better when the moon is out, but it allows me to take power from the moon itself and use it to heal myself."

"The perfect move for a worshiper of the moon." murmured DJ, causing Katara laugh.

"It doesn't matter!" shouted Volts, his anger growing. "I'll just hit you until you stay down!"

"Feel free to try." said Jackson, further infuriating Volts.

Volts gave a feral roar and charged at Jackson with thunder fang. Jackson, however, was ready for this. He quickly jumped out of the way and hit Volts with a dark pulse and before Volts could recover Jackson hit him with a shadow ball. Volts went flying, do to the two attacks, but before he hit the ground he pivoted and landed on his feat. Using the momentum from his landing, Volts shot at Jackson with quick attack and began to circle him, moving at incredible speeds. Jackson tried to hit Volts with a shadow ball, but because of how fast Volts was going it missed. Volts then changed his path and slammed into Jackson before resumed circling Jackson. Jackson launched a dark pulse at where Volts was moments ago, only for Volts to avoid it again. Volts then slammed into Jackson again before he even knew what hit him. Volts hit Jackson again and again, while Jackson couldn't land a single hit.

"Face it runt. You can't beat my speed!" said Volts as he hit Jackson yet again. "Just give up!"

'Damn, he's right.' thought Jackson. 'He's to fast, I can't hit him! There's got to be some way to slow him down. Come on Jackson, think!

Jackson closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to counter Volts' speed, then it hit him. "I've got it!"

Volt's was about to ask what he got when all of a sudden he couldn't move. "What the-" said Volts as he was lifted into the air. He looked at Jackson and saw that his eyes were blue, indicating that he was using psychic.

"Not so fast now are you?" taunted Jackson.

"Let me down runt!" shouted Volt as he struggled to free himself.

"As you wish."

Volts' body shot down and slammed into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Volts attempted to stand, but before he could he was hit by a barrage of shadow balls, each one hitting him. Volts was sent flying and as he fell he was hit by a dark pulse, blasting him into a tree. Volts tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he lost consciousness.

"No way." said Aqua, her eyes wide in shock.

"Volts...lost?" said Bruno.

"Way to go Jackson!" shouted Katara and DJ as they, and Leaf, ran to his side.

"Thanks guys." said Jackson with a smile. He then turned to Team Storm. "I believe you owe us four thousand poke."

Team Storm scowled as they gave Team Stardust the money and ran away, carrying their still unconscious leader.

"Nice job Jackson." said DJ. "How does it feel to have beaten Volts."

"I would be lying if I said that it was unsatisfying." said Jackson. "However, Volts underestimated me. If he went all out I probably would have lost."

"True, but maybe now he will see that you're strong and show you some respect." said Leaf.

"I doubt it." said Jackson. "He's very stubborn. It would take a lot to change his views of me."

"Well maybe the ass kicking you gave him will b enough." said DJ.

"We can only hope." said Jackson.

They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes until Katara spoke. "Let's head back. The others are probably wondering where we are."

"Hopefully Asura will let Leaf join." said DJ.

"Even if he does not, I will always follow you Alpha." said Leaf.

"Please just call me DJ." pleaded DJ.

"As I said before, it would be improper for me to call you anything other that Alpha." said Leaf.

DJ groaned. "This is going to get old."

Jackson and Katara both laughed at DJ's 'predicament' as they all headed towards Miracle Town.


	17. Chapter 17

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 17: Understanding**

Asura, thankfully, didn't have any qualms with Leaf joining the team, though he barely gave any acknowledgment that he even noticed Leaf there. Over the next couple of days DJ and Katara, after their missions, spent their time helping Leaf adjust to the 'city' life. Though he was intelligent he was still ignorant to some forms of technology such as the television, which he almost attacked thinking that Pokemon were trapped in it. He was also wary about sleeping in an actual bed since he and his tribe would normally sleep in trees, on the ground, or in caves when it was cold or raining, but he quickly got over it do to it being very cold the night that he joined, though he did make a hammock out of his sheets and slept in that instead of the bed. Everything was going well until something strange happened during mission briefing one day.

"Blitz and Bertha, you two will be going to Chilled Cavern to retrieve an item." said Asura as he was handing out missions. "Drake, Blade, and Grace, you three will go to Mystic Jungle to apprehend an outlaw. Jackson, Katara, and Leaf, Farmer Quake has asked for your assistance with his pest problem..."

"Hold on a second." interrupted Katara. "What about DJ?"

"If you would have let me finish I would have told you." said Asura icily. "Anyway, DJ will be accompanying me on an escort mission."

Everyone was dead silent at this.

"W-what?" asked Katara.

"You heard me." said Asura. "He's helping me with an escort mission."

"But why me?" asked DJ.

Asura sighed. "The calls for only fighting types and seeing as we are the only fighting types on the team, only we can do this mission."

"Fair enough." said DJ.

"Now if there aren't anymore questions we can go." said Asura as he made his way towards the door.

"I am coming with you." said Leaf, causing Asura to stop in his tracks.

"No you're not." said Asura. "You are going with Jackson and Katara. That's an order."

"I only follow the orders of my Alpha, and you are not him."

At this Asura whirled around and glared at Leaf. "As long as you are apart of this team you _will_ follow my instructions!"

"As I said, I only follow the instructions of my Alpha."

Everyone was shocked that Leaf would question Asura's authority, even though he was a tribal Pokemon. The air soon became thick with tension as the two glared at each other, and everyone was worried that Asura would either kick Leaf off the team or fight him. Thankfully, before things could get worse, DJ stepped in.

"Leaf, you are to go with Katara and Jackson, okay?" said DJ.

"As you wish my Alpha." said Leaf as he walked over to Jackson and Katara.

DJ turned to Asura and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I tried to explain to him that you were the leader, but-"

"Whatever." said Asura, cutting DJ off. "We've wasted enough time here, so let's go get the pack and meet the client."

Without another word Asura left. DJ merely sighed as he followed Asura out the guild house.

"So who are we escorting?" asked DJ. They had just gotten supplies for the mission and were currently waiting at the guild for their client.

"Are client is a Glameow by the name of Duchess. We are to escort her to a nearby town and protect her from any bandits or wild Pokemon that we may come across." said Asura.

"What's the town called?" asked DJ.

"Almia Town (AN: Yes, that is a made up word.)"

DJ nodded and the two stood there in an awkward silence. DJ still felt a little guilty about the things that he had said to Asura a few days prior and wanted to explain why he said those things, but never had a chance. 'Well, it's now or never.' thought DJ as he took a deep breath. "Asura I-"

"I take it you two are the ones escorting me?" asked a voice from behind the duo.

The two turned around and saw a cat-like Pokemon with gray fur, a crescent shaped head that looked like a boomerang, and a tail that was curled into a spring-like shape (Glameow).

"Are you Duchess?" asked Asura.

"Yes I am." said the Glameow.

"We are from Team Stardust and we shall be your escorts." said Asura politely.

Duchess sized up the two fighting types in front of her with calculating eyes. "I hired fighting types because they're supposed to be tough, but looking at you two...you don't look like much." said Duchess rudely.

This statement slightly angered DJ, but he reined in his emotions and kept calm. "I can assure you that we will be able to escort you to your destination."

"I'll believe it when I see it pup." said Duchess, further angering DJ. "Now let's head out. I want to be back home before sundown."

Duchess then walked past the two and towards the border of Miracle Town, followed by Asura and a grumbling DJ.

The trio made their way out of Miracle Town and down a path through the forest that surrounded Miracle Town. Asura had read the map ahead of time and decided on a route that would get them to Almia Town quicker. Though they had been going for about two hours, but they kept taking breaks because Duchess would complain every ten minutes that her feat hurt and demand a break. This annoyed both DJ and Asura, though Asura didn't show it. They finally came to what looked like an opening to a deeper part of the forest. When they reached the entrance Asura stopped them.

"Hey what's the hold up?" asked Duchess in an irritated tone. "Come on, let's go already. I don't have all day!"

"Coming from the one who made us stop like ten times." mumbled DJ under his breath.

"This is the entrance to a dungeon." said Asura.

Duchess paled at this. "WHAT?! I ASK YOU TO PROTECT ME AND YOU WANT TO THROW ME INTO A DUNGEON?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Both DJ and Asura winced at the volume of her voice. "It is the quickest way." said Asura after his ears stopped ringing. "Besides, we will protect you so that you don't have to fight."

Duchess huffed in annoyance. "Fine. What's the name of this place anyway."

"Tangled Swamp." replied Asura. "It's full of poison types so I will be able to handle them with ease."

"Wait, this place is a swamp?!" asked Duchess in disbelief. "A swamp? As in those places with _lots_ of mud."

"Yes..." replied Asura, unsure of where this was going.

"THERE'S NO WAY THAT I'M GOING INTO A PLACE LIKE THAT! MY PAWS WOULD GET DIRTY!"

DJ and Asura stared at her in disbelief. "It's just a little mud." said DJ. "It's not going to hurt you."

"I DON'T CARE!" shouted Duchess. "I'M NOT GOING IN THERE!"

"How about we make a compromise." said Asura, gaining DJ's and Duchess' attention. "I believe that I have a solution that will work out for everyone."

As it turned out, Asura's solution was for one of them to carry Duchess on their back through the whole dungeon. Since Asura was part psychic type, he would be fighting, leaving the job to DJ. To make matters worse, because Asura was fighting, he could not carry the pack as it would weigh him down, so not only did DJ have to carry Duchess, but he also had to carry the pack as well. Thankfully the dungeon only had five floors so they got out pretty quickly and they only ran into a few Pokemon, though every time one would attack the group Duchess would scream in DJ's ear. When the trio finally exited the dungeon DJ had developed an eye twitch do to his suppressed anger.

Duchess hopped off of DJ's back and glared at the two. "I should complain about you two purposly putting me into harms way, but I'll let it slide for now." said Duchess before turning away and walking down the path.

DJ's whole body was trembling in rage as he tried with all of his might not to strangle the Glameow. Even Asura was visibly disgruntled by the Glameow's attitude.

"There better not be any more dungeons that we have to go through, or I'll write a complaint to your guild master!" called Duchess.

"There won't be." said Asura.

"Good, now let's hurry. I want to be there before sundown." said Duchess.

"Ungrateful little..." grumbled DJ as he and Asura followed the Glameow.

They walked for another hour without anything exiting happening, besides Duchess' constant complaints. They had just passed a road marker that had said that Almia Town was a mile away, and DJ was thankful that they would be parting ways with the snobbish Glameow. They walked for another thirty minutes and the trio came upon a hill that overlooked a town, which Asura said was Almia Town.

"Finally." said Duchess. "Now let's hurry up before you two can put me in anymore danger."

DJ was about to snap at her, but a voice interrupted him. "A little late for that."

All three Pokemon turned and looked around to see who had spoken, but there was no one there.

"Who's there?" asked Asura in a demanding tone. "Show yourself!"

"Tut tut. There's no need to become violent." said the voice. A humanoid Pokemon then jumped out of a tree in front of the trio. Upon closer inspection, the Pokemon could be identified as a Bisharp. The Bisharp smiled cruelly at the trio. "Happy now?"

As soon as Asura's saw the Bisharp his eyes widened and his whole body began to shake. "Y-you're Bishop."

"Oh? You know who I am? My reputation must preside me." said Bishop with a smirk. He then spread his arms out dramatically. "Yes, I am Bishop, the legendary bandit! Hand over your money and valuables and _might_ let you live."

Duchess cowered behind DJ and Asura, completely consumed by fear, Asura had not moved from his spot, and DJ was trying to remember why his name sounded so familiar. 'Bishop... Why does that name sound so familiar.' thought DJ. His eyes then widened in horror as he finally remembered where he heard the name before. He looked at Asura and saw, from his expression, that his fears were correct.

Asura was experiencing a variety of emotions at the moment, anger being the most prominent one. His whole face was contorted in rage as the memories of that fateful day ran through his head. "You..." said Asura, anger laced in his voice.

"Eh?" asked Bishop. "You say something?"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Asura as he lunged at Bisharp, hitting him in the stomach with thunder punch.

Bishop was caught off guard by Asura's sudden attack and was sent back a few feat, but quickly recovered in time to dodge another thunder punch. "So you wanna play do ya? Well fine by me!" said Bishop as his claw glowed dark purple (Night Slash) and he charged at Asura.

Asura dodged the attack and attempted to use low sweep, but Bishop jumped over his foot and slashed at him with night slash again. Asura jumped back to avoid the attack, but the attack still grazed his chest.

DJ ran to help, but Asura shouted at him. "STAY BACK AND KEEP THE CLIENT OUT OF HARMS WAY! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

DJ reluctantly backed off as Asura launched himself at Bishop again. Bishop then shot out a dark pulse and hit Asura as he approached. Asura was launched into the air, but he quickly recovered and used hidden power and sent the attack at Bishop as he fell. Bishop easily dodged the glowing spheres and shot Asura with another dark pulse. The attack hit Asura, since he was still in the air, and sent him into a tree. As Asura fell, the blade on Bishop's head turned into iron (Iron Head). He then launched himself head first at Asura, just as he was getting up, and slammed his head into him, sending Asura through the tree that he just hit.

Asura hit the ground with a grunt and struggled to stand as Bishop approached. "Is that all?" asked Bishop cockily.

Asura growled at him in response and lashed out at Bishop with thunder punch, only for Bishop to bat his hand away and slash him with night slash.

"You appear to have some kind of grudge against me, I wonder why." said Bishop. His eyes widened as he realized who he was. "You're that Meditite from before. Didn't one of your little team explode or something?"

Asura then saw read as he attacked Bishop with new found anger. His moves became sloppy as he was now fueled by rage. He launched attack after attack at Bishop, but do to his rage all of his attacks missed. He even used psyshock, even though it had no effect. Bishop dodged each attack and slashed Asura with night slash, laughing the whole time. After a few minutes of this fight (if you could call it that) Asura fell to one knee, completely exhausted.

Bishop laughed cruelly as he blasted Asura back with another dark pulse, sending Asura crashing to the ground. Bishop stood over Asura and smiled cruelly at him, his blade arm glowing dark purple. "You are truly pathetic. But no need to worry. At least now you'll be able to see your little friend again."

Bishop brought his blade arm down, with the intent of killing Asura, and Asura closed his eyes and waited for death, but it never came. Asura opened his eyes and saw in shock that DJ had intercepted the attack by blocking the attack with the bones that stuck out of his paws. Before Bishop could react, DJ used force palm and sent Bishop back a few feet.

Asura was about to yell at DJ for ignoring his orders, but DJ spoke first. "Man, you got your ass kicked didn't you?" said DJ sarcastically. "And you call me pathetic."

"W-what?" stuttered Asura, shocked that DJ would insult him at a time like this.

DJ turned and faced Asura. "You're fighting like I did when I first came to this world. You were a lot more focused when we fought before." Asura looked at DJ in shock, completely caught off guard by his words. "Alistair taught me that you can't blindly attack like that. If you're angry, channel that anger and use it to make yourself more powerful."

Asura looked at DJ in shock, but soon that shock turned to rage. "Keep your damn advise and stay out of my way. I don't need your help!"

"Look, I know you're still upset over Jet's death and you're angry, but you can't let that rule you're life!" said DJ.

Asura was shocked at DJ's words. He was again reminded of a similar situation with Jet.

**Flashback:**

Asura and Jet were at Team Stardust's guild house sparring. Asura growled in anger as he was hit by Jet. "Come on, you can do better than that." said Jet with a smirk.

Asura growled again and threw a thunder punch at him, only for it to be dodged by Jet.

"You can't just throw attacks in frustration. You'll never be able to land a hit like that. Plus you're open to attacks." To prove his point, Jet grabbed Asura's arm and threw him over his back. "See?"

Jet offered him a paw, which Asura slapped away. "I don't need your help." said Asura.

"See there it is." said Jet. "You let your anger control you and you end up pushing others away. You need to lighten up man."

"Whatever." said Asura.

"Dude, the more you push others away the less friends you'll have."

"Whatev-"

"Say whatever again and I will ice punch you into oblivion." interrupted Jet. "And before you say it, you do need friends. Without them who would you train with?"

"..."

"Exactly. Don't push others away. Cause without friends you'll end up flat on your ass." As he said this he grabbed Asura's arm again and threw him on the ground.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" said Asura.

"Good." said Jet as he offered his paw to Asura again. "Now are you just going to sit there on your ass or are we gonna fight?"

Asura smiled and accepted his friend's paw.

**Flashback end:**

"Yo! Asura!" shouted DJ, snapping Asura out of his musings. When he looked up he saw that DJ was offering his paw to him. "Are you just gonna sit on your ass or are we gonna fight this bastard?"

This question completely caught Asura by surprise. 'He really is like Jet.' thought Asura with a smile. He accepted DJ's paw and rose to his feat. "Thank you."

This caught DJ off guard, but he got over his shock and smiled. "No problem. It's what teammates do."

"Are you two done saying your goodbyes?" asked Bishop sarcastically.

Asura turned to Bishop and glared. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He then turned to DJ and smirked. "What do you say that we take this guy out?"

DJ smirked at this. "I thought you'd never ask."

"What? You think that just because there are two of you it will make a difference? Ha! You two are no where near my level." said Bishop. "Ever since I escaped from your team I have been training, waiting for the day to exact my revenge. And today is that day. Now prepare yourselves as I-"

Whatever he was about to say was lost when he was sent flying backwards by a force palm and quick attack combo from DJ. "You talk way to much." said DJ with a smirk.

"INSOLENT BRAT! I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Bishop. Suddenly several swords made of blue energy formed around Bishop. The swords then crossed with each other and Bishop became enshrouded in red energy (Sword Dance). The blades and the red energy then faded just as Bishop charged the two fighting types with iron head.

Seeing the attack, Asura and DJ jumped to the sides and dodged the attack. DJ then ran up to Bishop and used low sweep on Bishop's leg. Bishop grunted in pain, but remained standing. Bishop then slashed DJ across his stomach with night slash and then hit him with a dark pulse. DJ was sent flying back a few feet and landed on his back winded. Bishop made to run after him, but was hit in the side of his head by a low sweep, curtsey of Asura (though low sweep is meant to hit an opponent's leg it can be aimed anywhere). The attack stunned Bishop and before he could recover he was hit in the face by a thunder punch. Asura was about to hit him with another thunder punch, but Bishop managed to grab Asura's arm and throw him into the air. Bishop then shot at the still air born Asura and used iron head. Just as the attack was about to hit DJ jumped in the air and used force palm on Bishop, knocking him back to the ground. As soon as Asura and DJ landed they had to jump again in order to dodge a dark pulse. Asura tried to use hidden power on Bishop, but he cut through them all with night slash. Bishop then shot at Asura like a rocket, using iron head, and landed a direct hit on Asura. Asura gasped in pain as he was sent backwards and fell to the ground. Bishop was about to strike Asura with a night slash, but he was hit by a glowing blue sphere, which Asura recognized as an aura sphere, and was sent flying.

Asura looked in the direction that the aura sphere came from and saw DJ standing a few yards away with his paws outstretched. 'He mastered aura sphere?!' thought Asura. 'When did he do that?!'

DJ then ran to Asura's side and helped him up. "Okay, I think I've got an idea." said DJ.

"What is it?" asked Asura.

"Okay, I'll distract him and you wait for an opening to attack." Asura made to argue, but was cut off by DJ. "Look, Asura. He's way to strong for us, so we need to catch him off guard in order to beat him. You've taken a lot of damage already so I'm the best mon for the job."

Asura wanted to argue, but could not find anything wrong with DJ's logic. "Fine, but be careful. He's a lot stronger than he was when I fought him last. And I don't want to be the one to tell the team that you died."

"Aww. You do care." said DJ jokingly as he wiped a fake tear from his eye. He then ran at Bishop, who was getting to his feat.

Bishop saw DJ approaching and ran at him with night slash. Bishop slashed wildly at DJ, hoping to cut him to ribbons. DJ dodged the majority of the attacks, though was hit by several of them, and unleashed a barrage of force palms. Bishop was hit by several of DJ's force palms, but he just kept slashing. This exchange lasted for ten more seconds before Bishop blasted DJ back with a dark pulse. DJ was sent skidding back. Bishop lunged at him with night slash, but DJ shot an aura sphere at him and sent him back.

"That's a neat trick you've got there. You're the first Riolu I've seen that can use aura sphere." said Bishop, getting to his feat. He then smirked evilly. "Too bad it won't be enough to save you!"

Bishop then shot at DJ using iron head, but just as he was about to hit DJ, DJ caught Bishop's horn in between his paws. The force of the attack pushed DJ and Bishop back, but DJ, using every once of strength in his body, kept Bishop's horn from hitting him. When the two finally came to a stop, DJ's feat had made shallow trenches in the ground.

DJ smirked at Bishop, still holding his horn. "Got ya."

Bishop was about to ask what he meant when Asura came from the side and hit him in the gut with a thunder punch, sending him into the air. Before Bishop could recover, DJ had leapt after him and slammed him back down to the ground with a force palm. Bishop got to his feat and roared in rage. He ran at DJ and Asura with night slash, but they both, simultaneously, spun around him and used low sweep on his legs, causing him to fall on his back. Just as he hit the ground, Asura, using thunder punch, and DJ, using force palm, slammed their attacks into Bishop's gut, causing a small explosion and embedding Bishop into the ground. When the smoke cleared DJ and Asura could see that Bishop was unconscious.

"We did it!" shouted DJ, jumping in the air before collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. "That was exhausting!"

"I have to agree with you on that one." said Asura, sitting down next to DJ and taking out his badge. He then pressed a button on his badge and called Officer Magnezone, informing him that they had apprehended Bishop (AN: I'm not sure if I mentioned this already, but there are three buttons on the explorer badges in my story. One is the stone in the middle that can teleport you out of a dungeon, another is a blue button that calls Officer Magnezone, and the third one is a recorder. Also the color of the badge determines the team's rank: Normal=white, Bronze=bronze, Silver=silver, Gold=gold, Diamond=blue, and Master=black. ). After he finished his call he turned to DJ. "So...you blatantly disobeyed my direct orders..."

"Wait, WHAT?!" shouted DJ, sitting up. He was surprised that Asura was reprimanding him. "But I-"

"But!" interrupted Asura. "Since you did save me I'll let it slide. Just don't do it again."

Fine! If I see you getting your ass kicked again I'll just watch next time." said DJ crossing his arms.

The two sat there in silence for a little while longer before Asura spoke again. "Look, I just wanted to say...thank you."

"No big deal." said DJ nonchalantly. "That guy had it coming."

"No, not just for that." said Asura, not looking DJ in the eyes. "I wanted to thank you for the things that you said to me."

"What?" asked DJ in confusion.

"The things that you said about me taking my frustrations out on others." clarified Asura. "You were right. Ever since Jet died I've been mourning. I felt that it was my fault that he died so to punish myself I distanced myself from everyone by acting like-"

"A jerk?"

"Yes. Like a jerk." said Asura, giving DJ the 'evil eye' before continuing. "By doing this I unknowingly took my frustrations out on everyone close to me. But you made me realize that that's wrong. I shouldn't focus on Jet's death. I should focus on all of the good times that we shared. So I just want to say thank you."

"No problem." said DJ with a smile. "Though if you really want to thank me you can get me a plate of waffles."

Asura gave DJ a small glare. "Don't push your luck."

"Meanie."

"Also, where's the client?" asked Asura.

"Oh her." said DJ, a devious smile spreading across his face. "I put her somewhere safe."

Seeing the look Asura grew suspicious. "Where." DJ didn't answer. He only pointed to a tree in the distance. When Asura squinted in the direction that DJ was pointing and saw Duchess hanging from a branch, yelling. He then turned to DJ. "You are evil."

DJ's smile became even wider. "Thank you."

After Asura got Duchess down, much to DJ's dismay, Officer Magnezone came and took Bishop, thanking DJ and Asura for their assistance. The trio then made their way to Almia Town, listening to Duchess yell that she would write a complaint to Tobias about her 'mistreatment'. When they finally reached Almia Town, Duchess left without another word.

"Grateful much?" growled DJ under his breath.

"Just be thankful we're done with her." said Asura. "Come on let's head back."

The duo headed back towards Miracle Town and arrived there in under a hour, since Duchess wasn't there to slow them down. Asura told DJ to head back the the guild house while he gave the report to the guild. DJ nodded and headed towards the guild house. When DJ arrived at the guild house he was bombarded with questions of how the mission went. He told them what happened, though he left out Asura's confession do to it being a personal matter. They were all shocked that they had run into Bishop, but were thankful to hear that he was now behind bars.

"I'm just sorry that I wasn't there to kick his ass myself." said Grace, uncharacteristically. A dark aura seemed to surround her and caused everyone present to back away from her in fear. The aura then disappeared as she became her normal, kind self. "Anyway, where's Asura?"

"He went to give the report. He should be back any minute now." said DJ.

They all went into the lounge and relaxed while they waited for Asura. About ten minutes later Asura entered carrying a small box, but something else caught everyone's attention. He was smiling.

Seeing Asura's smile, Blitz pointed an accusing finger at Asura. "Who are you and what have you done to Asura?!"

Asura looked at Blitz in confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm Asura." said Asura.

"No you're not." said Bertha, raising her bone threateningly. "Asura doesn't smile! So who are you?!"

Asura sweat-dropped at this. "Guys, it's really me. I came to a... revelation on my mission today, so I'm going to try to be nicer. I'm also smiling because I've got something for everyone." Asura set the box down and opened it revealing several silver explorer badges. "After giving my report my father decided to promote us. As of today, Team Stardust is a silver rank exploration team!"

Everyone was dead quiet at this. They all stared at Asura, then the badges, then Asura again, then the badges.

"W-we're silver rank now?" asked Katara in disbelief.

"Yep." said Asura.

"WOOHOO!" shouted Blitz, leaping into the air.

Blitz exclamation snapped everyone out of their shock as the too cheered loudly, except for Leaf because he didn't understand what was happening.

"I can't believe that we're silver rank now!" said Katara.

"I know!" said Jackson. "It's incredible!"

"I take it that this is a good thing." said Leaf uncertainly.

"You bet it is my green friend!" said Blitz as he threw an arm around Leaf's shoulder, or tried to since Leaf was considerably taller than him. "This calls for a celebration!"

"And you're coming too Asura." said Bertha, grabbing Asura's arm.

"What?" asked Asura.

"Yep." said Blitz, grabbing Asura's other arm. "You said you were being nicer so you're coming with us."

With that Bertha and Blitz frog-marched Asura out of the guild house, though Blitz was on his tiptoes. Everyone laughed at this sight and followed them out to celebrate.


	18. Chapter 18

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 18: Christmas**

A month had passed since Team Stardust made silver rank and things couldn't be better for them. Word got out that a member of Team Stardust had defeated the Shiftry Gang and clients have been requesting them for missions. There were so many requests that Asura was forced to raise Katara's and DJ's status from junior members to senior members. This meant that they were able to go on missions by themselves, though Leaf almost always went with them. Though it was hard work, the members of Team Stardust were happy. Currently DJ, Katara, and Leaf were making their way back from a retrieval mission in Violet Forest.

"Man that was a tough mission." said Katara. "Who knew that those Venipede would be so tough."

"I know, and all of that for a little seed." said DJ as he held a rather large blue seed. "What's so special about this seed anyway?"

"That's a reviver seed." said Leaf. "They have the ability to revive a Pokemon the faints in a dungeon."

"Wow, no wonder the client wanted it so badly." said Katara. She then looked to the sky. "I can't believe that it's been almost three months since I joined this team. So much has happened in such a little time."

"I know. Though I only have memories of the past two months." said DJ.

"That's right!" said Katara in realization. "You've only been in this world for two months!"

"I still find it hard to believe that you are not a real Pokemon. Though it's not my place to question you Alpha." said Leaf. They had told Leaf two weeks prior that DJ was originally a human. Though he did not really believe that what they said was true, he did not question his "Alpha".

DJ just sighed at this. Over the course of the month he had been trying to get Leaf from calling him "Alpha", but his efforts were futile. He then felt something cold and wet touch his nose. He looked up and saw that it was beginning to snow. "Hey! It's snowing!" exclaimed DJ.

Both Katara and Leaf looked up and saw that he was right. "You're right!" said Katara with a smile. "The first snow of the year. And so close to Christmas too."

"Christmas?" asked DJ.

Katara turned to DJ in shock. "You don't know what Christmas is?!"

"I know what it is. I just don't have any memories of celebrating it." said DJ.

"Well we'll just have to change that! Come on!" said Katara as she grabbed DJ's paw and literally dragged him the rest of the way to Miracle Town, with Leaf running to catch up.

"You do realize that I could have walked." said DJ irritably as he, Katara, and Leaf made their way towards the guild house. "Why were you in such a rush anyway?"

"Because we're going to help Grace put up Christmas decorations." said Katara happily.

"Joy." said DJ halfheartedly.

"Oh cheer up." said Katara, lightly punching his arm. "It's Christmas in five days!"

They reached the guild house and saw Blitz, Bertha, Drake, and Blade putting up decorations. As the trio approached, Blitz turned and saw them. "Hey guys!" said Blitz. "You're just in time! Grace needed some help with things inside."

The trio nodded and headed inside.

As soon as they entered they saw Grace, Jackson, and Asura putting up decorations. Grace immediately spotted them and before they could even blink she had put a box of decorations in each of their arms. "Put these up around the house." said Grace as she went back to putting up decorations.

Seeing their surprised expressions, Jackson walked over to them. "Don't mind Grace. She takes decorating _real_ seriously." said Jackson.

"Less talking, more decorating!" shouted Grace.

After three hours of continuous decorating, and another hour of straightening lights and other decorations because Blade said that they were crooked, Team Stardust had decorated the majority of their guild house. The only reason they stopped was because it began to snow heavily. Now they were all sitting in the lounge drinking hot chocolate, watching a Christmas movie about Santa Clause, a Delibird who delivered presents to all the good Pokemon of the world, and talking about the holidays.

"Well, all the teams get that day off as well as the following week to do whatever." said Asura.

"This year we're hosting a Christmas." said Grace. "We're inviting some friends and our families."

"Yeah! My brother and his team are coming too." said Blitz. "Normally we would go visit our parents, but we decided to stay this year."

"Me and Drake are going to visit our parents like we do every year." said Blade (AN: Drake and Blade are brothers).

"Usually I would go visit my family, but this year they're coming here." said Jackson.

"My parents are coming down to visit as well." said Katara. "I still need to go and buy something for them. I have no idea what to get my dad though. I can't wait to see them again. It feels like it's been ages."

"I know what you mean." said Bertha. "I haven't seen my family in a while and I miss them."

Katara looked at Bertha sympathetically. "Well at least we'll be able to see them again. I can't wait to see-" she was cut off by Blitz elbowing her. She turned to him and he gestured to DJ. She turned and saw him staring at his cup of hot chocolate, a glazed look in his eyes. "Arceus! Sorry DJ, I-"

"It's fine." said DJ, cutting her off. He then put his still full cup down and got to his feat. "I'm going to bed."

"Already?" asked Grace. "But it's still early."

"I'm just tired." said DJ as he walked upstairs. "Night."

As soon as DJ entered his room Katara smacked herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" said Katara. "We were talking about families in front of him! How could we be so stupid?!"

"I feel really bad now." said Blitz looking down. "We've all got families except for him. And we just reminded him of that."

"I can't imagine what Alpha must be feeling." said Leaf. "Even I have my old tribe, but he has no one."

Meanwhile, DJ was sitting on his bed, staring outside at the falling snow. 'I wonder if I even have a family. And if I do, do they miss me?' DJ shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. 'Thinking about it won't do me any good.'

He took one last look at his window before closing his eyes and falling to sleep.

"A little more to the left DJ!" called Blade.

DJ gave a grunt in response. It was the day before Christmas and Team Stardust was putting up the last of their decorations. Currently, DJ was on the roof, stringing up lights under the watchful eye of Blade.

"Like this?!" asked DJ after readjusting the lights.

Blade flew up and looked at the lights carefully. "Move them a centimeter to the right."

DJ moved the lights slightly. "This good?"

"Now a quarter of a centimeter to the left."

DJ nudged the lights. "Now?"

"...Perfect."

"Finally!" shouted DJ as he carefully walked over to the ladder. "That took two hours!"

"Perfection takes time."

"It would have been faster if you helped." grumbled DJ as he made his way to the ground.

"I can't hold things." said Blade, raising his scythes. "So I wouldn't have been able to hold the lights."

DJ merely grumbled in response and headed inside with Blade.

"Geez, what took you so long?" asked Katara.

"Ask Blade." grumbled DJ.

"He kept having you change the lights didn't he?" asked Katara with a smirk.

"I was moving the same set of lights for a whole hour!"

"Alpha." said Leaf, approaching the duo. "With your permission, I would like to go away for the holidays. As you know, after Shiftry was arrested, my tribe and I were released and I would like to spend the holidays with them."

"You don't need to ask my permission to go visit them." said DJ. When Leaf did not respond DJ sighed. "You can go."

"I thank you my Alpha." said Leaf with a bow. He then turned and left.

"Ugh. I wish that he would just treat me like he would anybody else." said DJ.

"Well anyway, let's head to the lounge. They're putting ornaments on the tree." said Katara as she and DJ headed to the lounge.

As they entered the lounge, DJ took a step back when he saw the tree. "Wow." said DJ in amazement. The tree was about eleven feet tall and was decorated in multiple ornaments of various shapes, sizes, and colors. The tree was also wrapped in various ribbons that seemed to shimmer in the light as well as multicolored lights. Finally, on top of the tree stood a ten pointed star that looked like a silver and gold Starmie, with a blue jewel instead of a red one. "The tree looks amazing!"

"I told you Grace took decorating very seriously." said Blitz as he waked over to them. "Though I gotta say, the tree looks amazing this year."

"Thanks. It took close to three hours to do, but it was worth it." said Grace happily.

"Well since all of the decorating is done, Drake and I will take our leave." said Blade. "See you in a week."

"Be safe." said Grace as Drake and Blade left.

The remaining members of Team Stardust each did their own thing. Grace, Asura, and Jackson went out to do some last minute shopping, Blitz took Bertha's skull/helmet and was running around with while Bertha chased him, and DJ and Katara were switching between watching TV and watching Bertha chase Blitz. When the sun finally set, everyone was sitting in the lounge relaxing, except for Grace who was going over everything for a third time to make sure that everything was set for tomorrow's party.

"Grace, relax. Everything is fine." said Asura.

"I know, but I just want everything to be perfect." said Grace.

"Keep talking about perfection and you'll turn into Blade." chuckled Blitz only to be hit on the head with Bertha's bone. "OW! My head still hurts from when you threw your bone at me!"

"Well you shouldn't have taken my skull." huffed Bertha as she fingered her bone.

"Anyway, what time is everyone getting here?" asked Grace.

"My family will be getting here around three." said Jackson.

"Same here." said Katara.

"My brother and his team will be here around that time as well." said Blitz.

"My mother will get here around five." replied Bertha.

"My parents will be here at four." replied Asura.

"Okay and my friend and her team will get here around that time as well, so that gives me some time to get all the food prepared." said Grace.

"Well let's all get some sleep." said Asura. "We have a big day ahead of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed off to bed, finding it hard to sleep do to their excitement for the following day.

"How did I get roped into this." mumbled DJ as presided to cut various berries. He had woken up not five minutes ago and Grace had somehow roped him into helping her with cooking.

"Make sure you cut those berries extra thin." called Grace.

"I know, I know." said DJ as he continued to cut the berries.

"And when you're done with that make sure to put set the oven to three-fifty degrees and put the food in the oven."

"Okay."

While DJ was cooking, Grace, Asura, Katara, Blitz, and Bertha were setting up chairs and tables for everyone, and Jackson had left to meet up with his family, because they didn't know how to get to their guild house.

"Almost time for people to start showing up." said Asura, looking at the clock.

"Okay, I'm going to go get my friend and her team. When you guys are finished please help DJ." said Grace as she left.

**1 hour later:**

"Geez, who knew Grace was such a task master." sighed DJ.

"She's always like this during the holidays." Asura.

"Well at least we're done." said Katara.

"I'm back." said Grace as she entered the lounge.

Everyone turned and saw that Team Sunflare was with her. "What are you guys doing here?" asked DJ.

"Oh you know Team Sunflare?" asked Grace.

"Yeah, I met them the day after I fought Katara's dad." said DJ. He then addressed Team Sunflare. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here for the party." said Collin.

"Me and Grace have been friends for years, so she invited me." said Michaela.

"Oh, so how have you guys been?" asked DJ.

"Pretty good." said Collin. "You?"

"We actually made silver rank not too long ago." said DJ proudly.

"Really? Cool, that means you guys are the same rank as us." said John.

"Why don't you guys have a seat. The others will be getting here soon." said Grace.

For five minutes Team Sunflare and Team Stardust chatted as they waited for the others to arrive. There was a knock at the door and Katara went to see who it was. "Mom! Dad!" shouted Katara.

Everyone turned and saw Surge and another Pokemon enter with Katara. The other Pokemon was a dark blue bipedal frog-like Pokemon with webbed feat and hands, a yellow stomach, a light blue star on each of its thighs, and a long pink tongue that was wrapped around its neck (Greninja).

"It's good to see you all again." said Surge. He then noticed Team Sunflare. "And who might you all be?"

"We're Team Sunflare." replied Collin. "Grace invited us."

"Ah. Well it's nice to meet you all. I am Surge and this is my wife, Rain." said Surge, gesturing to the Greninja.

"It's nice to meet you all." said Rain.

"Now we're just waiting for Jackson and his family, Blitz's brother's team, Bertha's mom, and Asura's parents." said Grace.

There was then another knock at the door. "That must be Garfield!" shouted Blitz as he rushed to the door. There was then the sound of the door opening followed by Blitz's exited shout. "BRO!"

"Get off me Blitz." came the voice of Garfield as he and his team walked into the lounge with Blitz latched on his arm. "Hey everybody."

"Hey Garfield." said DJ, waving to Team Odd Squad.

"Well if it isn't the pup." said Alex. "How ya' been?"

"Fine. Thankfully I haven't been put up as a wager recently." said DJ, looking at Blitz and Katara, who had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "Anyway, how have you guys been."

"Well you know us." said Davis. "We've been kicking ass and taking names."

"You mean _we've_ been kicking ass." said Alex.

"Alex. Shut up." said Davis.

"Déjà vu." said DJ.

"_You_ guys are Team Odd Squad?" asked Collin in surprise. "The _diamond_ rank Team Odd Squad?"

"Yep, that's us." answered Kimberly. "Who are you guys?"

"We're Team Sunflare." said John. "And you guys don't seem like diamond rank material.

The air around the two teams seemed to drop several degrees as tension began to rise.

"What was that?" asked Katerina sweetly.

"He didn't mean anything by it." said Screech quickly, trying to defuse the situation.

"Really, cause it sounds like you think you're better than us." said Alex dangerously.

"He didn't mean it like that. He meant that he was surprised to see you guys here." said Michaela. She then elbowed John. "Isn't that right John?"

"All I was saying is that they don't look like they're that strong." said John.

"Not strong?" asked Alex I a deadly tone. "How about we have a little battle. Then you'll see how strong we are."

"How about we all just calm down." said Grace, stepping between the two teams. "It's Christmas. A time to be together with friends and family. So let's all just sit down and enjoy each others company."

There was a tense silence, but after a few minutes both teams sat down and began to talk to everyone, much to Grace's delight.

"Good, now we just need to wait for Bertha's mom, Asura's parents, and Jackson and his family."

"I'm back!" came Jackson's voice from the front door of the guild house.

"Make that Bertha's mom and Asura's parents." said Grace.

Everyone turned and saw Jackson enter with nine other Pokemon that looked similar to him. One of the Pokemon was another Umbreon that was slightly taller that Jackson. The second Pokemon was Volts, who was sneering at everyone. The third Pokemon was a blue aquatic fox like Pokemon, with a split tail fin, three fins on its head and a white ruff around its neck (Vaporeon). The fourth Pokemon was another quadruped with red fur, two long ears, a fluffy yellow tail, a fluffy collar, and a tuft of fur on its head made of the same fur as its tail (Flareon). The fifth Pokemon was a lilac furred fox that had large eyes, tuft of fur that were slightly under its eyes, a long cat-like tail that was split at the end, and a red gem on its forehead. The sixth Pokemon was a quadruped with pale cream colored fur, pink paws, bright blue eyes, and two bows, one on its neck and the other on its left ear, each bow had two feelers attached to it with pink and blue tips (Sylveon). The seventh Pokemon was another fox-like Pokemon with light blue fur, two rhombus shaped dark blue markings on its back, the same rhombus shape on its tail, at head piece that looked like a teal turque with dangles on either side, and dark blue feat (Glaceon). The eighth Pokemon was a quadruped with cream colored fur, brown paws, a leaf-like tail, green sprouts that grow all over its body, a green sprout on its forehead, and leaf-like ears (Leafeon). The final Pokemon, which stood slightly behind Jackson was an Eevee.

"I would like you all to meet my family." said Jackson. "Katara and DJ, you know my older brother Volts."

"Unfortunately." grumbled DJ, remembering his previous encounter with Volts.

"The Flareon is my mother Flare, the Umbreon is my father Umbreonus, the Glaceon is my sister Gwen, the Vaporeon is my second oldest sister Splash, the Leafeon is my brother Lee, the Sylveon is my sister Sylvia, and finally, this little guy is Evan." said Jackson. He then nudged Evan forward. "Come on Evan, don't be shy. These guys are my friends, they won't hurt you."

Evan stepped forward nervously, but didn't say anything. Jackson sighed. "Sorry guys, he's a little shy."

"Just like DJ was when he first joined the team." said Blitz from his perch on his brother's arm.

"Hey!" shouted DJ indigently.

"Well it's true. You did act shy." said Katara.

"Well _excuse_ me!" huffed DJ, crossing his arms.

Everyone laughed at DJ, even little Evan chuckled. Jackson's family sat down and began to socialize with everyone.

"Strange." said Lee, looking DJ over with a critical eye. "Riolu normally have red eyes, but you have blue ones. There must have been a mutation in your genes that gave you them. You don't have any trouble seeing do you?"

"No." said DJ awkwardly. "I can see just fine."

"Then again, it might be because you were formally human." said Lee.

"Jackson told you?" asked DJ.

"Yes." said Lee as he pulled out a notepad and began to write in it, using his tail. "Tell me, what did it feel like when you first woke up as a Pokemon."

"Well, I felt...out of place. Like I was not in the right body." said DJ as he watched Lee take notes.

"Wait you're a human?!" asked Tyler in disbelief.

"Yeah." replied DJ.

"Then why didn't you tell us?" asked Screech.

"Well, it didn't really come up in conversation." said DJ.

"...True." said Max.

"Excuse me. Mister Riolu." said Evan as he walked over. "Is it true that you can use aura sphere."

"Yes." said DJ as he formed an aura sphere in his paw.

"Wow." said Evan in amazement. "That's so cool! I've read about that move, but I've never seen it in real life."

"Interesting." said Lee, taking more notes as he looked at the aura sphere. "You're aura sphere appears different than the other aura spheres I have seen. It looks more like a Lucario's aura sphere. I would assume it is because you are sensitive to the aura, much like a Lucario is."

"Too bad you're on this crummy team." sneered Volts. "You're talents are wasted on this dead end team. You would be better off on my team"

"Sorry, but I'd rather remain on this team than your _team._" said DJ, deactivating his aura sphere.

Volts growled in anger. "My team is ten times the team your team is."

"Yet your whole team was beaten by only five of us." said DJ slyly.

"You just got lucky." growled Volts.

"Volts' team lost to you guys?" asked Evan I wonder.

DJ looked down at Evan and smiled. "Yep and it was your brother that beat Volts."

"Really?!" asked Evan. "I knew big brother Jackson was strong!"

"He just got lucky is all." growled Volts.

"Oh stop being a sore loser Volts." said Lee nonchalantly. "By the sounds of things, Jackson got the better of you."

"Why you-" began Volts, but was cut off by Flare hitting him over the head.

"Volts." said Flare threateningly. "I told you before. No. Fighting. Am I clear?"

"Yes mom." whimpered Volts in fear, much to the amusement of everyone present.

"Hey guy!" said Splash as she and Gwen walked up to them. "Do you guys have a pool?"

"A pool?" asked Lee incredulously. "It's below freezing outside."

"So?" asked Splash.

"We don't have a pool." said DJ.

"Dang it." said Splash. "I really wanted to swim."

"You could walk in the snow." said Gwen. "It's basically water. It's just frozen."

"Nah." said Splash. She then looked at DJ and gave him a curious look. "Why is your tail pink?"

"Huh? My tail isn't pin- What the heck?!" shouted DJ when he saw his tail was indeed pink. "What happened?!"

Flare sighed. "Sylvia."

"Yes?" said Sylvia in a sing-song voice.

"Did you paint his tail?" asked Flare.

"Of course not!"

"_Sylvia_..." said Flare, leveling a glare

"...Yes." said Sylvia looking down.

Gwen sighed in exasperation. "Why?"

"I though he'd look cuter with pink fur."

"You think everything is cuter pink."

"Pink makes everything better!"

'She's just like Jackson with the moon.' thought DJ. "Does it come out."

"Yeah, it'll come out with a little water." said Flare, who was trying to stifle a giggle. She then turned to Sylvia after she had composed herself. "Sylvia. I've told you again and again, don't to paint Pokemon without their permission."

"Sorry mom." said Sylvia.

"Just don't do it again." said Flare. She then turned to DJ. "Sorry about her. She just loves the color pink. You wouldn't believe how many times she's painted little Evan."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. A few seconds later A Marowack, Tobias, and another bipedal Pokemon with a gray body, a hot pink head piece with three bulb-like extensions on it, and legs that looked like hot pink yoga pants (Medicham).

"There's my baby boy!" shouted the Medicham as it ran to Asura and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "It's been so long!"

"Mom. Can't breathe." said Asura.

"Oops. Sorry. I'm just so happy to see my little Asura." said the Medicham as she kissed Asura on his cheek.

"Mom, not in front of my team." murmured Asura as he tried to fight down a blush.

"Honey. How about you let him go before you crush his spine." said Tobias as he place a hand on the Medicham's shoulder. The Medicham sighed and released Asura, much to his delight. "There now. I would like you all to meet my wife Angela."

"It's nice to meet you all." said Angela.

"Don't forget about me." said the Marowack. "I'm Bertha's mom, Marrow. Speaking of which, where is Bertha?"

"Mom!" shouted Bertha as she made her way to the other Marowack with a present in her hands. "Sorry, I was just getting your gift."

"You didn't have to get me anything." said Marrow as she accepted the gift.

"Oh that reminds me!" said Angela as she pulled out a present and handed it to Asura. "Merry Christmas honey!"

"Thanks Mom." said Asura with a smile.

"Well since we're handing out presents." said Flare as she too pulled out a present and handed it to Jackson. "Merry Christmas."

Just like that, everyone began to hand out presents to their family members. Watching this happen, DJ looked on sadly. He was happy that everyone was spending time with their families, but he felt extremely lonely. He got up to leave and give everyone a chance to spend time with their families, but was stopped by Katara.

"Where are you going DJ?" asked Katara. "You haven't opened your present yet."

"Huh?" asked DJ in confusion. Katara held up a small present addressed to him. "Who's it from?"

"It's from all of us." said Katara.

"B-bu why?" asked DJ as he looked at the present in astonishment.

"Because we all felt bad that you didn't have a family to celebrate with. So we all chipped in to buy you something." said Katara with a sad smile.

"But I thought you only bought gifts for family." said DJ.

"Well, as long as you're part of this team, we will always see you as family." said Katara.

DJ's widened in shock at Katara's words. He looked up at the rest of the team. "You guys see me as family?"

"Of course we do." said Grace. "We see everyone on the team as family."

"B-but I didn't get you guys anything." said DJ.

"That's fine. Just make sure to get us each two presents next year." said Blitz, only to be hit on the head by Bertha.

DJ was speechless. These Pokemon had taken him in and now accepted him as a part of his family. Tears began to fill his eyes as he began to cry tears of happiness. "T-thank you guys." said DJ as he cried.

Everyone smiled at this heart-warming scene, except for Volts, who just sneered. "Man what a crybaby. To think I wanted someone like him to join my te-"

He was cut off by an aura sphere that sent him flying into a wall. Everyone looked at DJ in shock. DJ merely shrugged. "What? He had it coming." said DJ as he wiped away his tears.

Everyone laughed at this as they continued to unwrap their gifts, ignoring Volts. DJ looked out at the window and smiled, feeling like he finally belonged somewhere.

**Author Notes:**

Merry Christmas everyone.


	19. Chapter 19

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 19: Confrontation**

Everyone in Gallade's Guild enjoyed there vacation by spending time with their friends and family, except for one team.

"Boss. Just relax and enjoy the season." said Dusk.

"I will not relax!" roared Shell. Ever since Shiftry and his gang had failed to get rid of Katara, Shell had been livid. "As long as that pathetic excuse of a water type still breathes, I will not rest!"

"So what are you gonna do Boss?" asked Smoke.

Shell paced back and forth in thought. He then stopped and if he had a mouth, he would be grinning wickedly. "You know what they say, 'If you want something done right, do it yourself." said Shell.

"You're going to fight her yourself?!" asked Smoke incredulously. "But you'll be seen!"

"I'm not going to attack her in the open you idiot!" said Shell.

"Then what are you going to do?" asked Dusk curiously.

"Oh, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do." said Shell sinisterly as he explained his plan.

"Why couldn't Christmas break be longer?" complained Blitz.

"Oh stop complaining." said Bertha. "It's been a week."

"That's not long enough!" retorted Blitz.

"Blitz, stop complaining." said Asura. "We all have to go back to work and you don't see any of us complaining."

Blitz merely grunted in response as he crossed his arms and pouted like a child. Asura sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, I have today's missions." said Asura. "Blitz, you and Jackson are going to Mystic Plain. Drake you will be going to Fiery Forest. Blade, you and Leaf are going to Rainy Springs. Grace, you are going to Icy Cave. Katara and DJ, you are going to a nearby cave system to retrieve an item. The cave system is not a dungeon, so it shouldn't be a problem. Any complaints?"

Leaf was about to say something, but DJ told him to go with Blade.

"No? Okay then. Good luck everybody." said Asura.

"So what's the item that were going after?" asked DJ.

"Let's see... We are looking for Power Band that was dropped somewhere in the cave system." replied Katara, looking at the mission sheet. Then something on the mission sheet caught her eye. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" asked DJ.

"The mission asks for a water type specifically."

"That is weird. Why would a client specifically ask for a water type?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they thought that the team would have an easier time with a water type with them."

"Maybe..." said DJ skeptically as he looked over the sheet. For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling about this mission that he just couldn't shake.

"Ah well. No need to worry about it." said Katara, snapping DJ out of his thoughts. "Let's just get this mission done and head back."

"...Right."

DJ and Katara made there way to the cave system and without a second thought, they entered. They walked through the various caves and tunnels in search of the missing item. As they walked, they noticed a distinct lack of wild Pokemon. They had walked for at least twenty minutes and they had not seen anything.

"This is weird." said Katara as they entered another cave. "I know that we're not in a dungeon, but I would think that we would run into _some_ Pokemon." She then turned to DJ. "Can you see anything with your aura sight?"

"Let me check." said DJ as he closed his eyes, but before he could activate his aura sight an explosion came from above. The duo looked just in time to jump away as the ceiling collapsed.

As the dust cleared, Katara shakily got to her feat and looked around. Her eyes widened as she saw that the ceiling had blocked off a portion of the cave. She frantically looked around for DJ, but she could not find him. Immediately fearing the worse, Katara began to panic. "DJ!" she shouted, hoping that he was not buried under the fallen rocks. "DJ! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

"*cough, cough*Ugh. Katara is that you?" came DJ's voice from the other side of the rocks.

"DJ! Thank Arceus you're alive!" said Katara as she rushed to the newly formed wall. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." coughed DJ. "You?"

"I'm fine, but it looks like we're separated." said Katara. "Should we try to dig are way through?"

"No. Moving the rocks could cause the rest of the ceiling to collapse. I'll try to find a way back to you with my aura sight."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You too." said DJ as he sped off down a random tunnel.

"Man could things get any worse?" asked Katara.

"Of course they could." said a sinister voice.

Katara whirled around and saw Shell walking towards her menacingly. "S-Shell!" stuttered Katara. "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh me? I'm just here to kill you." said Shell.

Meanwhile, DJ was running through various caves and tunnels in search of a way back to Katara with his aura sight. "Okay if I take another right than a left I should end up back to that ro- Wait, is that Shell?" said DJ opening his eyes. "What the hell is he doing here?!"

"He's taking care of your little friend." said a voice.

DJ turned just in time to dodge a shadow ball. He looked to where the attack came from and saw Dusk and Smoke approaching slowly. 'Damn. I was so focused on getting to Katara that I didn't even notice them.' thought DJ. "What do you guys want?"

"Who us?" chuckled Smoke darkly. "We're here to make sure that you don't interrupt the boss."

"Shell? What does he want with Katara?" asked DJ. He then remembered what Garfield had told him when he first met Team Desolation. "He wants revenge for his father, doesn't he?!"

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" said Dusk, clapping his hands mockingly. "You're correct little pup."

"But Katara had nothing to do with Shell's father being put in prison!"

"True, but Boss can't go up against her father now can he?" replied Smoke. "But you shouldn't be worried about her. You should be more worried about yourself."

DJ gritted his teeth. 'Damn. It looks like I have to get past these two if I want to get to Katara.' thought DJ as he slid the pack off his back and created an aura sphere in between his paws and threw at the Koffing.

Smoke dodged the glowing sphere and attempted to ram DJ with tackle, only for DJ to dodge and hit him in the face with a force palm. Smoke went flying towards a wall and slammed into it. DJ formed another aura sphere and launched it at Smoke, but Dusk jumped in front of the attack. The attack hit him dead on, but it did no damage.

"Hehehe. Too bad pup. Fighting type moves won't work on me." said Dusk with a toothy grin as he charged at DJ, swiping wildly with his claws (Fury Swipes).

DJ growled in frustration as he dodged Dusk's claws. 'Damn! I can't even touch him.' though DJ.

DJ was ripped from his thoughts when Smoke came barreling towards him and slammed into him with a tackle attack. DJ was sent back a few feet, but remained standing. He attempted to attack Smoke, but Dusk jumped in front of him. The gem on Dusk's stomach then glowed red and he fired at pale pink beam that was surrounded by white energy at DJ (Power Gem). DJ quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attack, but as he did, Smoke hit him with another tackle.

'Damn!' thought DJ. 'I can't win like this. I need to focus on taking out Smoke then figuring out a way to incapacitate Dusk.'

Dusk then charged at DJ with fury swipes. DJ, thinking quickly, jumped over him, and charged at Smoke with force palm. Seeing the attack, Smoke unleashed a thick cloud of dark green smoke from his mouth at DJ (Smog). As soon as the smog hit DJ, he found it very hard to breathe. He quickly jumped as high as he could and got out of the cloud of noxious gas. Seeing him appear, Dusk launched a shadow ball at DJ, which DJ managed to bat away. DJ landed behind Smoke, and out of the gas, and prepared to use force palm, but Dusk managed to get between him and Smoke and took the attack. Dusk grinned evilly and unleashed a close range power gem, sending DJ flying into a wall.

DJ groaned as he got to his feat. "You should just give up now pup." said Dusk. "You can't beat us."

"Damn it." said DJ through gritted teeth. "I hope Katara's having a better time than me."

"Ahh!" cried out Katara as she was hit by another night slash. She had been fighting Shell for the past ten minutes and she was losing badly. She had landed a few hits on Shell, but he had shrugged his attacks off and countered with even stronger attacks. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because your father put my father in jail and brought shame upon my family. So I will get back at him by killing you." said Shell.

"You'll never get away with this!" said Katara. "When my dad finds out-"

"He won't find out." said Shell. "They'll all think that you were killed by a wild Pokemon. That's why I lured you here."

Katara's eyes widened in shock. "You sent the mission request?!"

"So you finally got it. Bravo." said Shell mockingly.

"Well you made one mistake." said Katara. "DJ came with me and he'll be here any moment to help me!"

At this Shell began to laugh. "I'm afraid that the pup has his own problems to deal with."

"What did you do to DJ?!"

"_I_ haven't done anything to him. My two teammates are dealing with him at the moment. Once you're dead I'll convince him to join my team, and if he refuses." Shell made a cutting motion across his throat.

"Y-you sick bastard." said Katara, clearly repulsed.

"Thank you. Now die!" shouted Shell as he charged at Katara with razor shell.

Katara jumped out of the way and unleashed a bubble attack at Shell. Shell shrugged them off and formed a small metallic gold sphere in between his hands and threw in at Katara (Smack Down). The attack hit Katara and exploded, sending her crashing to the ground. As Katara got to her feat, Shell ran at her, claws glowing light blue, and slashed her in an 'X' like fashion (X Scissor). Katara cried out in pain, but retaliated by hitting Shell with pound. Shell acted as if he didn't even feel the attack and smacked Katara across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. Katara then threw a water pulse at Shell, but he cut it in half with a razor shell. He toward over Katara, and if he had a mouth he would be smiling evilly.

"Looks like this is the end of you." said Shell as he raised his arm and formed another razor shell. "Any last words?"

Katara remained silent and glared at him in defiance.

"No? Good. I always hate sappy goodbyes." said Shell as he brought his arm down with the intent of ending Katara's life. Just as he was about to stab her, a glowing blue sphere hit his side and sent him flying into a wall.

Katara looked towards where the attack came from and saw DJ standing there. He was covered in scratches and bruises, but he was grinning like a fool. "DJ!" shouted Katara in relief.

"Hey Katara." said DJ with a smile. "It's not to late to join the party is it?"

"You." growled Shell as he climbed to his feat. "What happened to my teammates?!"

"They're a little... unconscious at the moment." said DJ with a smirk. "And before you try to convince me to join your team, the answer is hell no!"

Shell growled in anger. "Then if you won't join me, you shall share her fate!" shouted Shell as he lunged at DJ with night slash.

DJ jumped back to avoid the attack and sent an aura sphere at Shell. Shell leaned to the side and managed to dodge the attack and counter with a razor shell. DJ attempted to jump away, but the attack still cut him across his chest. DJ winced in pain, but continued to fight. Using their close proximity to his advantage, DJ hit Shell in the stomach with a force palm. Shell went sliding back, his feat making shallow trenches as he was pushed back. Before he could recover, DJ ran up to him and hit him in the leg with a low sweep. Shell grunted in pain, but remained on his feat. He then slashed at DJ with x scissor. DJ brought up his paws and used the bone nubs on his paws to block the hit. He then used low sweep again, only for Shell to jump over it. Still in the air, Shell formed a razor shell and brought his arm down. As the glowing blade came close to DJ, he brought up his paw as if he was going to catch the blade in his paw. Then suddenly, black aura surrounded his paw and formed a claw which effectively blocked the razor shell (Shadow Claw).

Shell's eyes widened for a split second before narrowing. "So that's how you got passed my teammates." said Shell. "You have a lot of potential. You should-"

"For the last Arceus damn time!" shouted DJ. "I'm not joining your team!"

"So be it." said Shell as he launched a smack down at DJ, catching him off guard.

DJ was sent flying backwards and hit the ground hard. DJ groaned as he began to get to his feat, but before he could Shell was upon him. Shell slashed at him with multiple razor shells, eliciting pain-filled cries from DJ. DJ then spun on the ground and hit Shell in the ankle with a low sweep. Shell toppled to the ground. DJ quickly got to his feat and was about to hit Shell with a force palm, but Shell hit him with another smack down. DJ, again, went flying and was sent into a wall. DJ slumped to the ground, still conscious, but injured. Shell got two his feat and approached DJ's downed form. Just as he was about to finish DJ off, Katara jumped at him and hit him in the back of the head with a pound attack. Shell whirled around just in time to get hit in the face by a water pulse.

Shell stumbled back and gave Katara a murderous glare. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!" shouted Shell as he slashed at Katara with night slash.

Katara jumped back and shot bubbles at Shell. The only sign that Shell had even felt the attack was the fact that he moved his hand to keep the bubbles out of his face. Shell roared in outrage and sent a smack down at Katara. The attack hit Katara right in her leg, causing her to scream in pain. Shell stalked towards her menacingly and was about to finish her when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw DJ glaring at him, and aura sphere in his paw.

"Get wrecked." said DJ as he slammed the aura sphere into Shell's gut, sending him flying backwards.

Shell hit the wall with a grunt and slid to the ground, unconscious. DJ sighed in relief, but then ran to Katara's side.

"Katara are you okay?!" asked DJ worriedly.

"I'm fine." said Katara as she tried to get to her feat. She almost made it, but she then cried out in pain and fell back to the ground.

"No you're not." said DJ as he looked at her leg. "It looks like that last attack sprained your ankle."

"I'll be fine!" argued Katara as she tried to get to her feat again, only for the same thing to happen.

"Stop being stubborn and sit still." said DJ as he went to the pack (which he had brought with him). He came back with a roll of bandages and a couple of Oran berries. He gave Katara one of the Oran berries and ate the other one while he wrapped up her ankle. "Better?"

"Yeah." said Katara "Thank you."

DJ just smiled. "You don't have to thank me. We're teammates. It's what we do."

Katara was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Officer Magnezone entering the cave. "Are you two alright?" asked Officer Magnezone.

"Yeah, we're okay." said DJ. He then pointed to Shell's prone body. "He's the one who orchestrated the whole thing."

"I thank you for your assistance." said Officer Magnezone as he took Shell away.

Katara then turned to DJ. "You called Officer Magnezone?"

"Yep." said DJ. "I called him after I took care of Shell's lackeys."

"Speaking of which. How did you beat those two?"

"Well it wasn't easy..."

**Flashback:**

DJ jumped back to avoid another shadow ball and then quickly pivoted in the air to dodge Smoke's tackle attack. He then launched an aura sphere at Smoke, only for it to be blocked by Dusk.

"You can't beat us pup!" said Dusk cockily. "Give up now and you won't be hurt... much."

'At this rate he's right.' thought DJ. 'Looks like I'll have to use that move. I haven't used it in an actual battle, but I hope it works.' DJ then charged at Dusk, pretending like he was going to use force palm.

"You just don't learn, do you pup?" said Dusk as he just stood there.

DJ smiled at this, and as he came within five feet from him he used shadow claw and slashed Dusk across the chest. Dusk's jeweled eyes widened as he felt the attack hit him. He tried to get away, but DJ continued to swipe at him with shadow claw. Eventually, seeing his teammate taking damage, Smoke flew at DJ and attempted to use tackle on him. Seeing the attack DJ jumped back and avoided it.

Dusk winced in pain as he clutched his chest. He then glared at DJ. "You little punk!" shouted Dusk. "You'll pay for hurting me!"

"Whatever you say." said DJ with an uncaring tone.

Dusk screamed in anger and launched at DJ with fury swipes, but because he was so angry, DJ was able to dodge them with ease. DJ then saw Smoke trying to sneak up behind him, so quickly turned and fired an aura sphere at him. Smoke went flying into the wall, but remained floating. DJ turned back around and slashed Dusk with another shadow claw.

Dusk stumbled back and glared at DJ. "THAT'S IT!" shouted Dusk. "THIS ENDS NOW!" He then created six glowing orbs and sent them at DJ (Confuse Ray).

DJ quickly jumped to the side and dodged the attack. The six balls of energy kept going and hit Smoke who was still recovering. The spheres then surrounded Smoke and spun around him until they all exploded, confusing him.

"What's happening?" slurred Smoke as he wobbled in the air. "I can't see straight."

"Damn it Smoke!" shouted Dusk in anger. "You got in the way!"

"Don't worry Dusk. I'll get him." said Smoke as he focused on DJ, or who he thought was DJ, and shot out a glob of sludge at him (Sludge Bomb).

"NO YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE AIMING AT ME!" shouted Dusk as he got hit by the sludge bomb. Dusk fell back and cried out as a strange purple energy went through his body. "Damn it. I'm poisoned."

"Sorry Dusk." said Smoke, still confused. "I'll get him this time."

"NO!" shouted Dusk.

Smoke launched sludge bombs in every direction, though none of them hit DJ, some of them did hit Dusk. Dusk groaned as another wave of purple energy racked his body. His body then went slack, indicating that he was poisoned. Seeing this DJ charged Smoke, carefully dodging the sludge bombs, and hit him in the face with force palm. The force of the force palm sent Smoke crashing into the wall, where he slid to the ground and fainted.

DJ sighed in relief, but quickly remembered that Katara was still in danger. He grabbed the pack and ran down a tunnel. While running, he called Officer Magnezone and informed him of the situation. 'I hope I'm not too late.' thought DJ as he rushed down the tunnel.

**Flashback end:**

"And that's what happened." finished DJ.

"Wow." said Katara in amazement. "I'm glad you were able to use the TM that we got you for Christmas."

"Yep. Without it I would have been toast." said DJ. He then picked up the pack and put it on over his stomach. With the pack secure, he walked over to Katara and crouched down in front of her, his back facing her. "Get on."

"What?" asked Katara, a light blush dusting her face.

"You can't walk so I'm gonna give you a Tepig-back ride." said DJ.

Katara hesitated for a second before climbing on DJ's back. Once she was on, DJ straightened up and began to walk out of the cave. After a few minutes of walking, the duo finally made it out of the cave. They both took a deep breath, filling their lungs with fresh air before continuing their trek.

"DJ..." said Katara, gaining DJ's attention. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me back there."

"I told you before." said DJ. "You don't have to thank me. Besides, you would have done the same for me. Get some rest. I'll wake you up when we get back to the guild house."

Katara nodded and smiled to herself. 'Thank you DJ. You really are a good friend.' thought Katara as she drifted into unconsciousness.


	20. Chapter 20

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 20: Kicking It To The Next Level**

"That should do it," said Grace as she finished re-wrapping Katara's ankle. "Thankfully your ankle was only sprained, so I want you to stay off it for at least a day."

It had been about three hours since DJ had returned with Katara. They had told their story a total of five times. Once to Asura and Grace, a second time for Tobias, a third time for Alistair, who saw DJ carrying Katara, fourth time to Surge and Rain, and a fifth time for the rest of Team Stardust.

When Tobias was heard what had happened, he was pissed. He officially disbanded Team Desolation and had them incarcerated. But that was nothing compared to how Surge, who was still in town, reacted. He had attempted to attack Shell and his cronies when they were being taken away by Officer Magnezone. It had taken the combined strength of Tobias, Alistair, and Rain to hold him back.

"How come you're not tying her up?" pouted DJ.

"Because, she's not stubborn enough to disregard my orders," said Grace. She then gave Katara a pointed look. "Are you Katara?"

"Yes Ma'am! I mean no Ma'am. I mean..." spluttered Katara.

Grace smiled at this. "Good." said Grace before turning to DJ. "Don't you have training with Alistair today?"

"Oh yeah!" said DJ. "With everything happening I sorta forgot." he then turned to Katara. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." said Katara, waving off DJ's concern.

"Okay," said DJ. "See you guys later."

With that, DJ dashed off.

"Hey Gramps!" shouted DJ as he approached Alistair.

"How long are you going to keep calling me that?" asked Alistair with a sweat-drop.

"How long are you going to call me pup?" countered DJ with a smirk.

"Touché little pup," chuckled Alistair. "How's Katara?"

"She just had a sprained ankle," replied DJ. "Grace said that she'll be fine in a day or so as long as she stays off it."

"That's good."

"How's her dad doing?"

"He's still seething, but Rain is trying to calm him," sighed Alistair. "He'll probably check up on Katara once he calms down."

"Okay."

"Anyway, you learned shadow claw, right?"

"Yep," replied DJ, holding out his paw and covering it with a black aura that shaped into a claw.

"Impressive," said Alistair as he examined the shadowy claw. "How did you learn it?"

"During Christmas everyone on the team pitched in and bought me the TM for shadow claw." replied DJ.

"That was nice of them."

"Yeah..."

"What move did you give up to learn it?"

"Huh?" asked DJ, giving Alistair a curious look. "What do you mean by giving up a move."

"You see, a Pokémon can only know four moves," explained the Lucario. "You originally had four moves, force palm, quick attack, low sweep, and aura sphere, meaning you would have had to forget one of those moves to use shadow claw."

"Oh," said DJ in thought. "Well, while I was fighting I used aura sphere, force palm, and low sweep along with shadow claw, so I guess that means I gave up quick attack."

"I see," said Alistair. "So you sacrificed speed for power."

"I guess so... Is that bad?"

"For some it wouldn't be a problem, but for you it is," said Alistair. "You use mainly close range attacks, meaning you have to get close to your opponent in order to attack. In your past fights you have used quick attack to get in close to deliver attacks, and since you no longer have quick attack, if you go up against an opponent that uses long range attacks, you will have a very hard time fighting them."

"I see," said DJ. "So should I get rid of shadow claw and relearn quick attack?"

"No. Shadow claw gives you an advantage against psychic types and allows you to hit ghost types." said Alistair. "I would say you should keep the moves you have now and increase your speed."

"How do I do that?"

Alistair gained a glimmer in his eye, that, for some reason, sent chills down DJ's spine.

"I have a friend that can help," said Alistair. "He actually has a shop here in Miracle Town. Follow me."

With that said Alistair walked towards Miracle Town. DJ ran to catch up, unable to shake the uneasiness that he was feeling.

"So who is this friend of yours?" asked DJ, still unable to shake the feeling.

"Oh, just a friend," answered Alistair evasively.

"Where'd you meet them?" pried DJ.

"He taught me a few things when I was still a Riolu," replied Alistair. "I've used what he taught me while teaching you."

"By teach, do you mean torture?"

Alistair smiled in response, which did not help DJ uneasiness.

The two walked for a few minutes, walking past many colorful shops and restaurants, until they came upon an unusual looking building. The structure of the building looked normal enough, but it had what looked like giant arms on the side that held up a giant sign that read, Frank's Muscle Shop. Once inside, the DJ saw that the shelves were filled with training gear. From sweat bands, to elixirs (Proteins, Calciums, HP Ups, etc.), to weights.

Alistair walked up to the counter and rang the bell. After a few minutes a large Machoke.

"Hello," said the Machoke. "Welcome to Frank's Muscle Shop. What can I- wait Alistair? Is that you?"

"It's been awhile, hasn't it Frank," said Alistair.

"Alistair!" said the Machoke as he walked around the counter and shook Alistair's hand. "You old dog! How ya' been?!"

"I've been good. You?

"I've been good as well." replied Frank. "My shop's been doing good too."

"That's good to hear," said Alistair.

The Machoke then noticed DJ. "Who's the pup?" asked Frank. "Don't tell me that you finally settled down and..."

"No, no, no," said Alistair, placing a hand on DJ's head, much to DJ's annoyance. "This is DJ. I'm actually training him."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you," said Frank extending his hand to DJ.

"Nice to meet you too," replied DJ, shaking his hand.

"Speaking if kids," said Alistair. "How's your son?"

"See for yourself," said Frank. He then turned to the back of the shop and shouted. "FRANK JR! COME HERE PLEASE!"

"OKAY!" came a voice from the back. After a few seconds, a young Machop walked out and stood next to Frank. "Yes Dad?"

"Frank, you remember Alistair, don't you?" asked Frank.

"... Yes?" replied Frank.

"You don't remember him do you?" deadpanned Frank.

"... No."

Frank just sighed at his sons antics. "Anyway, the Lucario is Alistair," said Frank.

"Oh, nice to meet you, or see you again," said Frank Jr sheepishly, as he shook Alistair's hand.

"And the Riolu is DJ."

"Nice to meet you," said DJ, extending his paw.

"Likewise," said Frank Jr, as he shook DJ's paw.

"So what brings you here to my store?" Frank asked Alistair.

"I'm actually here to pick something up to help DJ in his training."

"What do you need?"

"Something to help increase his speed."

"I know just the thing," said Frank as he gestured for Alistair to follow him to the back.

While Frank and Alistair were in the back, Frank Jr and DJ made small talk.

"So are you Alistair's son?" asked Frank Jr.

"No," replied DJ. "He's just training me."

"Oh, so how'd you get him as a trainer?"

"Guild Master Gallade introduced me to him."

"You're in Gallade's guild?" asked Frank Jr in astonishment.

"Yep," said DJ proudly.

"Wow. Lucky. Dad won't let me join," said Frank Jr depressedly. "He want me to work at the shop."

"Oh, well... maybe he'll change his mind eventually."

"Maybe..."

Before more could be said, Alistair and Frank returned with a paper bag.

"So will that be all?" asked Frank.

"Yep that should do it," replied Alistair. He then turned to DJ. "We're heading out now."

"Okay," said DJ. He then turned to Frank Jr. "It was nice meeting you."

"Same." said Frank Jr with a smile.

"Well don't be strangers," said Frank. "Don't be afraid to come and visit."

"We'll see you guys later," said Alistair as he and DJ left the store.

Once the two made it back to the training fields, Alistair pulled out a pair of light blue bracelets.

"What are those?" asked DJ.

"These," said Alistair, holding up the bracelets. "Are power anklets."

"Power anklets?" asked DJ.

"Yes, power anklets. They are worn on one's ankles and when worn, they make it hard to move."

"How will that help me?" asked DJ, looking at the anklets warily.

"Well think of it this way. With these weights, your legs will get stronger, thus allowing you to move faster once the weights are removed."

"Really?" asked DJ. "Well let's give it a shot!"

"Okay," said Alistair, chuckling at the young Riolu's enthusiasm and handing the anklets to him. "Go ahead and put them on."

"These are freaking heavy!" shouted DJ as he tried to walk with the anklets on.

"You'll get used to them," said Alistair.

"I've been trying to get used to them for the past thirty minutes!" complained DJ.

"Now to help you get used to the new weight," said Alistair, ignoring DJ's complaint. "We're going to spar."

DJ gulped in fear as he got into a fighting stance. Alistair dashed forward and aimed a punch at DJ's head. DJ dodged, but a lot slower than usual. Do to this, he was not able to dodge a kick from Alistair.

DJ threw a punch at Alistair's head, only for it to be batted away. DJ tried to follow up with a kick, but he could barely lift either of his legs because of the weights. Because he couldn't kick properly, DJ threw another punch, only for it to be blocked.

DJ growled in frustration as threw punch after punch at Alistair, but they were all blocked, dodged, or deflected. Alistair, however, was able to land multiple hits on DJ.

'Damn!' DJ thought as he blocked another hit. 'With these weights I can't move like I used to.'

DJ grunted in pain as Alistair hit him in the stomach.

"You have to be quicker than that!" said Alistair as he kept up his assault.

"Kind of hard when I'm wearing weights!" retorted DJ as he blocked a punch.

After ten more minutes of "training", DJ finally collapsed in exhaustion.

"I have to say," said Alistair. "You moved pretty well with those weights."

"I still couldn't keep up with you," gasped DJ, trying to catch his breath.

"Well what did you expect? Even without the weights, you couldn't keep up with me,"

"...True..." said DJ begrudgingly. "But why can't I wear lighter weights then switch to heavier ones when I get used to those?"

"Because the weights you're wearing are specifically made for fighting types, meaning that they are heavier than others," explained Alistair. "Besides, I used the same type of weights when I was a Riolu."

"Really?" asked DJ. "...Fine I'll wear them."

"Good, Now since you still need to get used to the weights, you are to keep them on at all times, except for when you're sleeping."

"WHAT?!" shouted DJ in shock. "_All _the time?!"

"Yes all the time. In order for you to become faster you must gain stronger leg muscles. With stronger leg muscles, you will be able to move even faster than you did before."

"Fine," grumbled DJ in defeat.

"Now, I want you to run around Miracle Town, at full speed, twice times."

"WHAT?! BUT-" DJ cut himself short, remembering the Alistair had made him run three laps last time he talked back.

"Hmm? You say something?" asked Alistair, holding a paw to his ear.

"No sir!" said DJ as he began his run.

"Dang that's brutal," said Blitz.

"Tell me about it," groaned DJ.

After DJ did his run around Miracle Town, he had to spar with Alistair again for another twenty minutes. When he had finally made it back to the guild house, he nearly passed out from exhaustion.

"So how heavy are those weights?" asked Katara.

"Heck if I know," responded DJ with a shrug. "All I know is that I have to keep them on at all times."

"That sucks," said Blitz.

"Alistair is right though," said Asura. "Wearing those weights will help you become faster."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I have to like them," said DJ, glaring at the anklets.

"Well you'll just have to deal with it," said Bertha.

"Do not worry Alpha," said Leaf. "In time, those weights will make you faster."

DJ looked out the window. "Thanks," he then got up and stretched. "I'm heading to bed, hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow. Night."

"Night," responded everyone else.

DJ slowly made his way up the stairs, still being weighed down by the anklets.

Shortly afterward, Katara yawned. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay as well."

"I think we should all go to sleep," said Asura. "It's been a long day for everyone."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they all got up and headed to their rooms, with Grace helping Katara since she couldn't walk properly, and went to sleep.

It took one week for DJ to get fully accustomed to the power anklets. During that week he had a hard time completing missions do to the fact that he was considerably slower. Though he was still slower than before, he was able to move a lot faster than he did when he first started training with the weights. In that week, Katara's ankle healed fully and she was able to join DJ and Leaf with missions. Two more weeks passed without incident, until one morning...

"Where's Asura with our missions?" asked Blitz impatiently.

"Calm down Blitz," said Bertha.

"I don't wanna calm down!" said Blitz irritably.

"Just sit down," said Bertha.

"Why don't you make me!" shouted Blitz, jumping to his feat.

"With pleasure!" said Bertha, also getting up.

But before either could make a move against one another, they both became outlined in a blue light and levitated to their chairs.

"Both of you please sit down," said Jackson, deactivating his psychic.

"She/he started it!" they shouted.

"Both of you _please_ be quiet," said Grace.

Thankfully, Asura walked in at that moment.

"My father called a meeting for all members of the guild," said Asura as he entered.

"Why?" asked Katara.

"He didn't say why, but he _did_ say that it was urgent so let's go," said Asura.

When Team Stardust arrived at the guild, they were greeted by a mass of Pokémon.

"Whoa," said DJ when he saw all of the Pokémon. "I didn't realize that there were this many Pokémon in the guild!"

As they approached, a voice came from their left. "Hey! Over here!" they turned and saw Team Sunflare waving to them.

"Hey guys!" said DJ as he, and the rest of Team Stardust, walked over to them. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," responded Collin. "Do you guys know why the guild master called this meeting?"

"No idea," said Asura.

"It must be something serious if he called the whole guild," said Michaela.

"Well it looks like we're about to find out," said Grace, pointing forward.

They all turned and saw Tobias walking forward to address the assembled Pokémon.

"Pokémon!" shouted Tobias, silencing all the chatter. "I have gathered you all under to deliver grave news. Last night, an attack occurred at Bigslow Prison."

There were gasps and whispers at this. "Bigslow Prison?" asked DJ.

"Bigslow Prison is where Officer Magnezone takes all of the outlaws that we capture," answered Max. "The prison itself is broken into several levels, separating the petty thieves from the hardcore criminals."

"Because of this attack," said Tobias, gaining everyone's attention. "Multiple prisoners, from each level, escaped and are now roaming free."

This caused a full uproar.

"WHAT?!" shouted a random Pokémon.

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!" shouted another.

"WHAT DO WE DO?! WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do!" shouted Tobias. "We are going to assist Officer Magnezone with recapturing those outlaws! When we receive news on the locations of the escaped outlaws, I will assign a team to capture them. Until then, it's business as usual. Together we will persevere!"

At this last statement, all of the Pokémon cheered.

"Wow," said DJ in amazement, looking at the cheering Pokémon. "Guildmaster Gallade is really inspirational.

"You heard my father," said Asura, turning to his team. "Until further notice, it's just an average day. Let's do our best."

"Yeah!" was their response.


	21. Chapter 21

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 21: Rematch**

As the week went on, Gallade's guild made capturing all the escaped outlaws their top priority. Since Gallade's announcement, several outlaws were successfully caught and detained. However, there were still many more outlaws on the run. On top of all that, Officer Magnezone was still investigating the cause of the break out.

Currently, Asura was in the process of distributing the day's missions.

"Okay everyone," said Asura. "We have been tasked with going after four outlaws that were spotted in the area."

"It's about time we get some action," Bertha said while cracking her knuckles.

"So who are we going after?" Blitz asked eagerly.

"The first on is a Rhydon," said Asura. "Grace and I will go after him. Blade and Drake will be going after a Drowzee. Bertha, Blitz, and Jackson, you three are going after a Pignite. And Jackson, please make sure those two don't kill each other."

"I'll try my best," Jackson said with a smile.

"What about us?" DJ asked, indicating to Katara, Leaf, and himself.

"I was actually going to give this outlaw to Jackson's group, but I think that you would want to go after this guy," said Asura, handing DJ the mission sheet.

DJ gave Asura a curious look before reading over the paper. As he read, a smile began to form on his face. After he had finished reading the sheet, DJ began to laugh.

Curious, Katara and Leaf peered over his shoulder to see what was funny. Katara saw the picture of the outlaw that they were supposed to capture and nodded in understanding, while Leaf gave DJ a confused look.

"I am confused Alpha," said Leaf. "What is so funny about an Elekid."

"Well you see there's some... 'bad blood' between DJ and this particular Elekid," Katara explained.

"What do you mean by 'bad blood'?" Leaf asked.

"Let's just say that I'm getting some sweet, sweet payback," said DJ, his smile never leaving his face.

"What's the name of the dungeon Elekid's hiding out in?" Katara asked as the trio of DJ, Leaf, and herself exited Miracle Town.

"It's a place called Electrified Ruins," DJ replied, his smile from earlier still intact.

"I have heard of that place," said Leaf. "Apparently, the whole area is electrically charged and the electric types that reside there can feed off that electricity and make themselves stronger."

Katara gave DJ a concerned look. she knew how Elekid had defeated and embarrassed DJ and he understood that he wanted revenge, but she was worried that he would make crucial errors in his quest for revenge.

"DJ..."

"I know what you're going to say Leaf," DJ interrupted. "And believe me, I'm aware of the danger and I will be cautious. I'm not out for revenge, I just want to see how strong I've become since I last fought Elekid."

Katara wanted to argue, but felt that she should trust her friend.

The trio walked in silence for few more minutes until they came upon an ancient looking structure.

"Looks like this is the place," Katara said nervously. "How many floors until we reach Elekid?"

"The sheet says that he is in the bottom of the ruins, which is located on floor twelve," DJ said noting Katara's nervousness. "Don't worry Katara. We'll make sure that you don't have to deal with the electric types."

Katara gave DJ a look of gratitude before following her teammates into the ruins.

The trio entered the dungeon and saw that the walls were all glowing blue. DJ walked up to the walls and lightly touched it only to jerk his paw back when he was shocked.

"I see what you meant by 'electrically charged'," said DJ, looking at his paw.

The trio continued to explore the dungeon in search of the stairs. They got through the first four floors without encountering any wild Pokémon, but when they reached the fifth floor, they had their first encounter.

"Katara, duck!" DJ shouted.

Katara heeded DJ's warning and ducked, narrowly avoiding a thunder punch sent by a wild Flaaffy. Shortly after that they had reached the fifth floor, the trio was attacked by a large group of electric types.

"Why are there so many of them?!" DJ asked as he lashed out at an Electrike with a shadow claw, slashing it across the face.

Leaf shot out a volley of seeds at an Eelektrik knocking it out. "I've heard of this happening in dungeons occasionally. It's called a monster house."

Katara smacked a Minun over the head with a pound attack. "Just our luck,"

"Screw this!" DJ shouted as he rummaged through the pack and pulled out an orb and activated it.

The orb glowed bright blue and sent out a pulse throughout the dungeon, causing every Pokémon in a one hundred foot radius to freeze.

"Foe-hold orb," said DJ, tossing the orb. "Never leave home without one."

"Ugh," Katara groaned. "That was ridiculous!"

"From what I have heard, those are common occurrences in mystery dungeons that have more than ten floors," said Leaf.

"Well that's just great," DJ said sarcastically as he handed out oran berries to Katara and Leaf. "So there's a chance that we'll run into another one of those?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Leaf answered, accepting a berry.

"I guess we're just going to have to be careful," said Katara, eating her berry.

Once the trio had finished their berries, they set off down a random hallway.

They managed to get through five more floors with only a few encounters and thankfully no monster houses. On the tenth floor...

"This is by far the longest dungeon I've ever been in," said DJ, shifting the pack on his shoulders.

"I know," Katara agreed. "But at least we're almost there."

"We've been on this floor for a few minutes, so the stairs should be close," said Leaf.

"I think I can see them!" Katara exclaimed, pointing down the hall.

DJ and Leaf looked in the direction that she was pointing to and saw tat she was right.

"Wow," DJ said as they walked down the hallway to the room with the stairs. "That was fast."

"Be cautious Alpha," Leaf warned. "There might still be enemies nearby."

"The stairs are right there," said DJ, taking a step in the room. "What's the worst that could happen?"

No sooner had he uttered these words multiple Pokémon fell from the ceiling and surrounded the stairs.

"You just had to say something, didn't you DJ," said Katara.

"My bad..." DJ mumbled.

"That...was...brutal," Katara gasped as she tried to regain her breath.

"Note to self," said DJ. "Bring more than one foe-hold orb when entering a dungeon with more than ten floors."

"At least this is the last floor before we face Elekid," said Leaf.

"And this time, when we see the stairs, we enter the room cautiously," Katara said while shooting DJ a half glare.

"I said I was sorry!" DJ whined. "How was I supposed to know that _twenty_ Pokémon would appear?!"

"Not counting the ten that entered while we were fighting," Leaf added.

"Thank you Leaf," said DJ. "What more do you want from me?"

"Another apology would be nice," Katara said slyly.

DJ rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine. I'm sorry. Happy?"

"No," Katara said with a smile. "But it's a start."

"You're impossible," DJ grumbled, though the corner of his mouth began to twitch upwards.

"You know it," Katara said happily. "Now let's get going!"

With that Katara leapt to her feet and made her way down a hallway. DJ gave Katara an incredulous look before he and Leaf ran after her.

After a short five minutes of walking the trio made it to the final set of stairs.

"Wow," said Katara. "That was fast

"I know," DJ replied. "And we didn't run into a single Pokémon on this flo-"

Katara covered DJ's mouth with her hand before he could say anything else. "SHHH! Don't jinx it!"

DJ rolled his eyes, but nodded. Satisfied Katara removed her hand from his mouth. Without another word, the trio descended the final staircase.

The entire bottom floor was a large chamber filled with stalactites and stalagmites. The trio looked around and saw that the walls all had ancient paintings of Pokémon.

"Wow!" Katara exclaimed, taking a closer look at the paintings. "All these paintings are of the legendary Pokémon!"

"Legendary Pokémon?" DJ asked. "Who are they?"

"They are basically gods among Pokémon," Leaf answered.

"Wow," DJ said in amazement. "Where are they now?"

"No one knows," Katara answered. "They used to live near cities and actually interact with other Pokémon, but then they just disappeared."

"Disappeared?" DJ asked, looking at Katara.

"Yeah, they just up and vanished," Katara responded. "People looked for them, but they didn't find anything."

DJ turned back to the wall and gazed at a painting of a large white quadruped with some kind of golden ring around its midsection. He continued to stare until Leaf spoke up.

"Don't forget what we are here for."

"Right," said DJ, tearing his eyes off the painting and looking around. "Where is he anyway."

"I take it you're looking for me," came a voice off to the trio's left. They all turned in that direction and saw Elekid step out from behind a stalagmite. "So, your here to take me back to that prison? HA! Don't make me laugh!"

"But you just laughed," said DJ, feigning innocence.

Elekid glared at DJ. "You brat! I outta'-wait. Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me?" DJ asked in mock hurt. "I'm so hurt."

Elekid looked at DJ carefully, trying to remember where he had seen him before. His eyes then widened in realization.

"Wait! You're that Riolu from before!" Elekid exclaimed. "I'm surprised you survived our last encounter."

"Yeah well...you probably should have made sure I was," DJ said, taking off the pack. "'Cause now I'm gonna get some payback."

Elekid just stared at DJ for a second before bursting out in laughter.

"Y-you...are going to fight me? HA!" Elekid said between laughs. "That's rich. You couldn't beat me in a million years! You're not worth my time, so why don't you run along before you get hurt."

"Sounds to me like you're too scared to fight me," DJ said.

"What was that pup?" Elekid asked with a dangerous edge in his voice.

"You heard me you overgrown spark plug."

Elekid growled at this. "Fine. If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish."

Elekid ran at DJ and tried to hit him with thunder punch, but DJ sidestepped the attack and tripped him with low sweep. Elekid quickly got to his feet and launched a small bolt of electricity at DJ. Seeing the attack, DJ jumped to the side to avoid it. Elekid then ran at DJ and tried to use low kick to trip him, but DJ countered with a low sweep. The collision of the two attacks caused both fighters to jump back and clutch their legs in pain.

"Damn!" Elekid shouted. "That hurt you little brat!"

"Screw you!" DJ retorted, shaking his leg in an attempt to alleviate the pain. He then created an aura sphere in his paws and launched it at Elekid.

Elekid was completely caught off guard by the attack and could do nothing to avoid it. The glowing sphere hit him square in the chest and was sent airborne into a stalactites, destroying it. Elekid fell back down and landed face first on the ground.

DJ was about to walk over to Elekid to see if he was conscious when Elekid groaned and slowly got to his feet.

"You little brat," Elekid growled, getting to his feet. "You just signed your own death warrant."

DJ's response was the classic "bring it" hand gesture. Elekid roared in anger and ran at DJ, both his fists crackling with electricity. Even with his weights, DJ was able to dodge or block all of Elekid's attacks, which further infuriated him. Elekid then made the mistake of throwing a thunder punch at DJ's face. Seeing the attack, DJ batted Elekid's fist to the side, leaving Elekid completely open. Seizing his opportunity, DJ slashed at Elekid with shadow claw. Just as the attack was about to hit a glowing green energy erupted from Elekid, creating a dome around Elekid and pushing DJ back.

'Damn protect,' thought DJ as he stumbled back.

As DJ tried to regain his balance from being pushed backwards, Elekid quickly dropped his shield and ran at DJ. Before DJ could react, Elekid punched him in the gut with an electrified fist. DJ clutched his stomach, leaving him open to another thunder punch to his jaw. Before Elekid could hit him a third time, DJ slammed his paw into Elekid's stomach and used force palm, sending him flying.

As soon as Elekid landed, DJ was already running at him, both his paws covered in shadowy claws. Elekid was barely able to put up his green shield. DJ slashed at the green shield repeatedly, trying to get through the shield.

Elekid began to sweat due to the energy that it took to keep the shield from breaking. Eventually the shield began to crack under the relentless attacks. Seeing the shield begin to crack, DJ deactivated his shadow claws and used force palm, effectively breaking the protect. DJ then used another force palm, sending Elekid into the wall.

As soon Elekid's body touched the wall, sparks began to fly. DJ leapt back, as to not get electrocuted, and watched in shock as the electricity from the walls engulfed Elekid.

"What the-" DJ started, only to be sent flying back by a bolt of lightning.

DJ hit the ground with a grunt, but managed to get to one knee. He opened his eyes to see what hit him only to have his eyes widen in shock when he saw a rejuvenated Elekid standing there, a cocky smirk on his face.

"So little pup," Elekid sneered. "You ready for round two?"

'Shit!' DJ thought as he got to his feet. 'I forgot that electric types could use the electricity of the ruins.'

Elekid charged at DJ with renewed ferocity. DJ tried to defend himself, but he found that his body was slightly numb.

'Shit!' DJ cursed. 'I'm paralyzed!'

Katara and Leaf watched the fight in concern. DJ had told them not to interfere, but they were becoming increasingly worried.

"We have to do something," said Katara.

"Alpha told us not to interfere," Leaf replied.

"But he's paralyzed!" Katara argued. "He needs our help!"

"Alpha told use not to interfere," Leaf repeated.

Katara let out a shout of annoyance, but stayed where she was and continued to watch the fight.

"Argh!" DJ cried out in pain as he was hit by another thunder punch.

"What's wrong pup?" Elekid smirked as he approached DJ. "Can't keep up?"

"Screw you," DJ huffed as he he got up again.

"Just give up," said Elekid. "You can't possibly hope to beat me here."

'He right,' thought DJ. 'He'll just keep touching the walls to regain power if I keep doing damage. What can I do-wait. That's it!'

"You're right. I can't beat you here," Elekid smiled at this, but his smile turned to a look of shock when DJ lashed out and grabbed his arm. "So how about a change of scenery."

Before Elekid could respond, DJ pulled out his badge and teleported them outside of the ruins.

As soon as the two appeared outside, DJ pushed Elekid away from the entrance with force palm.

"Damn you!" Elekid shouted, trying to get by DJ, only to receive another force palm. "That's not fair!"

"Oh, cry me a river," DJ replied. "It wasn't fair fighting you in those ruins."

Elekid growled in response and shot a thundershock attack at DJ. DJ launched an aura sphere at the attack causing a small explosion that blocked both fighter's vision. DJ quickly activated his aura sight and located Elekid. With his target in sight, he charged through the smoke and leapt at Elekid, catching him by surprise. DJ clawed at Elekid with multiple shadow claws, but only landed three hits because Elekid put up his protect.

DJ growled in frustration and began to beat on the glowing shield with multiple force palms. DJ kept attacking the shield until his body went numb for a second, causing him to freeze. Seeing this, Elekid dropped his shield and punched DJ in the gut with a thunder punch.

DJ cried out as more electricity went through his body. He stumbled back slightly, but remained on his feet. He then jumped back to avoid another thunder punch and kicked Elekid in the leg, causing him to fall back. DJ tried to hit Elekid while he was down, but was hit by another thundershock.

Elekid jumped to his feet and ran at DJ. He then used low kick, causing DJ to fall. As he fell DJ he twisted his body and landed on his paws. He then spun on the ground and swept Elekid's feet out from under him. Elekid hit the ground again and before he could do anything, DJ used force palm on him with both of his paws, pushing Elekid into the ground and knocking him out.

"Finally," DJ said with a satisfied grin.

"DJ!" DJ turned and saw Katara and Leaf running towards him. DJ smiled at them, expecting to be congratulated on his win, but soon found himself on the receiving end of Katara's pound attack.

"OW!" DJ cried out, holding his head. "What's the big idea?!"

"That was by far the most reckless thing you've done yet!" Katara shouted.

"I won didn't I?!"

"Well you didn't have to fight him by yourself! Especially in a place like that!"

"That's why I brought him out here!"

"Speaking of which," Leaf interrupted. "That was a smart move Alpha."

"Thanks Leaf," said DJ. He looked at Katara and saw that she was still mad. "Look, Katara. I'm sorry. It was just something that I had to do."

Katara sighed. "I know, but I wish you wouldn't fight by yourself. We're both here for you, so let us help."

DJ was about to argue, but Katara interrupted. "Just promise me that next time you'll let us help."

DJ sighed. "Okay. I promise."

"Good," said Katara. "So how does it feel to get revenge?"

"I told you it wasn't for revenge," said DJ. He was silent for a moment then his face broke out in a grin. "...but it felt amazing."

Katara laughed at this remark and called Officer Magnezone to pick up Elekid while DJ took a much needed nap.


	22. Chapter 22

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 22: Unleashed**

"Another day, another outlaw," DJ sighed as he and the rest of Team Stardust sat in their lounge, relaxing after another day of recapturing outlaws.

"It's been three weeks and they're still so many outlaws loose," Katara groaned.

"I know right?" Blitz exclaimed. "There's just no end to them!"

"But you know what's strange?" Asura asked. "The higher level criminals seem to have disappeared."

"Now that you mention it, you're right," Grace said. "So far the only outlaws that we've encountered have only been petty thieves and the occasional kidnapper."

"I also remember my big brother mentioning that they haven't encountered many hardcore criminals either," Blitz added.

"I wonder where they are," Bertha wondered aloud.

"Maybe they all joined up and are planning on taking over the world," Blitz said jokingly.

"Get real Blitz," Bertha said. "There's no way that all of those outlaws would work together."

"And even if they did," Blade said. "They still wouldn't have the strength to take over the world."

"I was just making a joke. Jeez," Blitz grumbled.

"Whatever the case," Asura said. "We need to be prepared for tomorrow, so everyone to bed."

"What?!" Katara cried out. "But it's only nine at night!"

"No buts!" Asura said. "Bed, now!"

"Yes _Dad_," Katara said sarcastically as everyone went upstairs.

"I'm so tired!" Katara yawned as she, DJ, and Leaf walked through the forest that surrounds Miracle Town.

DJ gave Katara an incredulous look. "You were complaining last night how you didn't want to go to sleep!" DJ exclaimed.

"I wasn't tired then," Katara said childishly, causing Leaf and DJ to sweat-drop. "Anyway, where are heading this time?"

"Our mission is to capture a Graveler that's hiding out at Limestone Canyon," Leaf answered. "To get to the cliff we have to go through Zealous Mountain."

"Let me guess," DJ said. "It's a dungeon?"

"Yes it is Alpha," Leaf.

"Ugh," DJ groaned. "Why can't outlaws ever hang out in a nice meadow, or maybe even a forest. Why do they always go through dungeons?!"

"Most outlaws hide in dungeons because it offers them shelter from exploration teams that are hunting them," Leaf answered.

DJ gave him a deadpan look. "That was a rhetorical question."

"Forgive me Alpha," Leaf said with a small bow. "I am still not accustomed to your...jokes."

"It's fine," DJ said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's just hope there aren't any monster houses in this dungeon."

"Dammit DJ!" Katara shouted as she smacked DJ across the back of his head. "You jinxed us again!"

DJ immediately covered his mouth, his eyes wide with fear and shock. "Sorry!" he said.

Leaf just sighed at his teammates' antics. "There's no such things as jinxes," he said.

"I stand corrected," Leaf said as he dodged a poison jab from a wild Croagunk.

"Ah come on!" DJ shouted as he knocked out another Roggenrola with a force palm. "It's only the third floor!"

"I told you you jinxed it!," Katara said as she threw a water pulse at a Drilbur. "Do you have any Foe-Hold orbs?"

"Yes," DJ responded, jumping over a Bagon that attempted to headbutt him. "But I can't get to them at the moment.

"I recommend that you do not waste an orb now," Leaf said before blasting another Roggenrola with a barrage of seeds. "These Pokémon are fairly weak. It would be a waste to use one now."

Almost as if they understood what Leaf was saying, the wild Pokémon attacked with even more ferocity.

"You just _had_ to insult them, didn't you?" DJ asked Leaf, annoyance clear on his face.

"I was not insulting them," Leaf said, not understanding why his alpha was annoyed. "I was just stating a fact."

"Forget it," DJ sweat-dropped. "Just keep fighting."

Even with the increased ferocity of the wild Pokémon, the three members of Team Stardust were able to knock them all out in a couple of minutes.

"That wasn't so bad," Katara said as she wiped the sweat of her face. She then turned to DJ and glared. "You're still not off the hook."

"I said I was sorry," DJ whined.

"You said that last time," Katara countered. She then took a step towards him "I'm gonna tell you this now. If you say one more thing about monster houses, _you_ are dealing with it alone. Understand?"

"Okay, okay," DJ said, holding his paws up in defeat.

"Good," she said happily, her mood instantly changing. "Now let's get going."

Leaf and DJ both sweat-dropped at Katara's antics, but said nothing and followed her down a tunnel.

It took the trio about an hour to make it through the whole dungeon. Thankfully, for DJ's sake, they did not run into anymore monster houses. Once they exited the dungeon, they saw that the gap between the canyon was about twenty yards across and about four hundred and eighty feet deep.

"Wow," Katara said while taking a glance over the canyon. "That's quite a drop."

"No, _really_?" DJ said sarcastically.

"Katara gave DJ a mock glare. "Don't even start," she said. "I'm still mad at you."

"_Still_?!" DJ asked incredulously. "What do I have to do to make you let it go?"

"Hmm," Katara pondered. "How about...a weeks supply of candy from Armaldo's candy store."

"But it's so expensive," DJ complained. "Ugh, fine."

"Yes," Katara fist pumped. "Now let's take out this outlaw! I want candy!"

For the third time today, DJ and Leaf sweat-dropped at the Froakie's antics.

"Considering you just said outlaw, I assume that you're looking for me"

The trio turned to the sound of the voice, and saw a Graveler standing upon a ledge that was above the exit of the dungeon. He then jumped down and landed a few feat in front of them, causing the ground to slightly tremble.

"So, they finally sent a team after me aye?" the Graveler asked. "To bad for you that I'm going to destroy yo- wait." The Graveler then took a closer look at the trio. "A fighting, water, and grass type?! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!"

The trio sweat-dropped at the now panicking Graveler. He then took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"Bah! It doesn't matter," the Graveler said. "You three are probably weak. I'll beat you three quickly then relocate."

"I'll show you weak," DJ growled as he cracked his knuckles.

The Graveler gave a battle cry and two white glowing ring surrounded him. The white rings then faded, leaving multiple gray rocks, that revolved around the Graveler, in their place. With a shout, the Graveler shot the rocks at the trio, forcing them to jump away.

As soon as he landed, DJ dashed at the Graveler at high speeds, despite the fact that he was still wearing the ankle weights. Seeing him approaching, the Graveler curled into a little ball and braced himself. As soon as DJ was in striking range, DJ delivered a low kick and sent the Graveler rolling. As soon as the Graveler stopped rolling, he got uncurled himself and smirked at DJ.

"It'll take more than that to get through my defense curl," the Graveler said smugly.

No sooner had he said that, he was hit by an orb of water and a barrage of seeds, causing him to stumble back.

"You seem to forget that Alpha is not your only opponent," Leaf said.

The Graveler cursed his own stupidity before curling up into a ball again, but this time began to roll in place, steadily gaining speed. He then shot at Leaf at surprising speeds. Leaf shot another barrage of seeds at the Graveler, only for them to bounce of harmlessly. Leaf tried to jump to the side to avoid the attack, but as he did this, the Graveler changed direction and slammed into him. Leaf went flying back a few feat and hit the ground with a dull thud.

The Graveler then charged at Leaf again, determined to flatten him, only for DJ to jump in front of him and hit him with a force palm. The explosion caused by the Graveler's rollout and DJ's force palm caused DJ to skid back a few feat and the Graveler to go flying back.

"You okay Leaf?" DJ asked while nursing his sore paw.

"I am fine. Thank you my alpha," Leaf answered as he got to his feet.

"It's what friends do," DJ said cheerfully as he ran after the Graveler.

"Friends?" Leaf asked himself as he watched DJ chase down the outlaw.

Meanwhile, the Graveler was getting to his feet, mumbling curses about annoying brats, when he saw a stream of bubbles approaching him. Thinking quickly, he created a bunch of stones and launched them at the bubbles, effectively destroying them and forcing Katara to jump in the air to avoid the stones that got through. Seeing her jump into the air, the Graveler smirked at prepared to use another stone edge attack at the airborne Froakie. Seeing this, Katara expelled a large cloud of smoke from her mouth and blanketed the whole area in smoke.

_Fool_, the Graveler thought. _With this smokescreen, no one can see. This will gives me the perfect opportunity to rest up._

Before the Graveler could relax he was hit in the back by a sphere of blue energy (not that he could see it), causing him to fall flat on his face. The outlaw got up and launched a stone edge attack in the direction that the attack came from, but hit nothing. He was then hit in the leg by, what he assumed to be, a kick, causing him to fall to one knee. He was then subjected to multiple, kicks, palm strikes, and what he assumed to be claws from all sides.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" the Graveler shouted in frustration over not being able to hit his elusive assailant.

His only answer was a childish laugh that seemed to emanate from every direction at once, which freaked him out a little. Eventually, he gave up trying to hit the mysterious Pokémon and instead used defense curl to defend himself until the smokescreen cleared. He didn't have to wait long for the smoke to clear completely, revealing a smiling DJ.

"I'm surprised you're still conscious after all those hits," DJ said.

"YOU BRAT!" the Graveler shouted as he charged at DJ only to be sent crashing to the side by a glowing green ball of energy.

"Impressive," Leaf said as he watched the Graveler get up. "For him to be able to stand after all of your attacks as well as my own is quite a feat. He must have the ability sturdy."

"That makes since," Katara said. "How 'bout we finish this guy already."

"Sounds good to me," DJ said.

"I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY CHIL-" the Graveler said only to stop short when he saw the three in front of him forming their respective elemental spheres. He quickly rolled into a ball and braced himself for the attack.

"That won't work this time!" DJ shouted as they all unleashed their attacks at the outlaw.

As soon as the attacks made contact with the Graveler, they exploded, generating a lot of smoke and creating a big shock wave that almost knocked the three members of Team Stardust off their feet. When the smoke finally cleared, the Graveler could be seen laying face down on the ground.

"Phew. That was fun," DJ said sarcastically.

"Was that a joke Alpha?" Leaf asked seriously.

"Yes," DJ said while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes it was."

"Anyway," Katara interrupted. "Let's call Officer Magnezone and head back to Miracle Town. I want my candy!"

"Geez," DJ said as he pressed the button on his badge, telling Officer Magnezone to send someone to pick up the outlaw. "And you say I have a sweet tooth."

"No," the Graveler said, surprising the trio.

The trio turned back the previously downed Graveler and were shocked to see him struggling to stand.

"How is he still conscious?!" Katara asked in bewilderment.

"I won't go back," the Graveler said, finally rising to his feet. His body then began to flash a bright white then reverted back to his normal color then flashed white again. "I WON'T GO BACK TO PRISON!"

"He's about to use explosion!" Leaf shouted. "Get away from him!"

The Graveler jumped at Katara, who was to shocked to move out of the way. Katara then felt something hit her from the side, pushing her out of the Graveler's trajectory. When she turned her head to see what had hit her, her eyes widened in horror when she saw that DJ had shoved her out of the way, putting himself in the Graveler's path. She tried to call out to him, but the sound was lost when the Graveler exploded.

The shock wave generated by the explosion sent Katara flying towards the edge of the canyon, where she hit the ground near the edge with a thud. She opened her eyes and, to her horror, saw something small and blue sail over her head and down the canyon.

"DJ!"

"We need to get him to the ICU quickly!" Audrey said as she and two Chansey pushed a gurney down the halls of the medical unit in Gallade's guild.

On that gurney was an unconscious Riolu that was bleeding, covered in burns, scratches, and its tail was bent at an odd angle. Running next to the gurney was a hysterical Froakie

"Is he going to be okay?!" Katara asked, barely holding back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I'm not sure," Audrey said truthfully. "We'll have to wait and see."

With that Audrey and the two nurses pushed the gurney holding DJ through a door labeled ICU, leaving Katara alone in the hallway.

Shortly after DJ had been sent over the canyon, several Magneton had shown up to apprehend the Graveler. Katara and Leaf told them what had happened and the Magneton were able to retrieve DJ from the canyon. Thankfully, DJ had landed on a ledge that was a little more than halfway from the bottom. They rushed DJ back to Gallade's guild and got Nurse Audrey who signaled for two other nurses to help her. Leaf went back to the guild house to get Asura.

Katara sat in one of the chairs outside the ICU and cried, feeling extremely guilty over what happened.

"Katara!" Katara turned and saw Asura, Blitz, Grace, Drake, Blade, Jackson, Bertha, and Leaf running towards her, worry written all over their faces. "What happened?! Leaf said that DJ got hurt, but he didn't go into detail!"

Katara looked at them with teary eyes. "It's all my fault," Katara managed to choke out. "He got hurt because of me."

"What do you mean?" Grace asked, putting a consoling hand on Katara's shoulder.

Katara explained what occurred at Limestone Canyon, through tears.

"Damn," Blitz said. "Will DJ be okay?"

"Nurse Audrey didn't know," Katara choked out.

"It happened again," Asura mumbled in disbelief. "How could this happen again?"

This caused Katara to erupt in new sobs.

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault," Grace said reassuringly. "Besides, DJ's to stubborn to die. There no way he'd let something like an explosion and a fall take him out."

Katara chuckled slightly at this, but said nothing. After about an hour of waiting, Audrey exited the ICU looking tired.

"Is DJ going to be okay?!" Katara asked as soon as Audrey exited the room.

Audrey sighed and gave Team Stardust a grim look. "I'm still not a hundred percent sure," Audrey responded. "When you brought him in, he had several broken bones, including his tail, multiple lacerations all over his body, several second degree burns from the explosion, and a fractured skull. We managed to stabilize him for the moment, but he is still not out of the woods yet. There's no telling if he will make it. But believe me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure he recovers."

Team Stardust only nodded in response and Audrey left to inform Tobias of what happened. Katara broke into another fit of silent tears while the rest of Team Stardust stared at the ICU doors, praying to Arceus that DJ would be alright.

**One week later:**

"Here to visit DJ again Katara?" Audrey asked

"Yeah," Katara answered. "Is there any change in his condition?"

"Sadly, no," Audrey said as she led Katara to DJ's room in the medical unit. "His injuries have almost completely healed, but he is still unconscious. I believe that is due to the fact that he fractured his skull. This event seems to have put him in a coma of sorts. The way things are, there is no telling when he will wake up again."

"I see," Katara said sadly.

The duo came upon a door, Audrey opened it revealing an unconscious Riolu covered in bandages and hooked up to a machine. His ankle weights on the floor next to his bed, since they were too heavy to put on the nightstand.

"You have a visitor today," Audrey said.

"Hey DJ," Katara said sitting by his bed. "Miss me? Today me and Leaf went on another mission today. We captured another outlaw and we didn't run into any monster houses. Everyone else is doing well too, though everyone misses you. I also ran into Team Odd squad and Team Sunflare today. They said that they would stop by to visit."

Katara continued to talk to the unconscious Riolu for about two hours, just talking about how the team was doing and what was happening in the world. She then noticed that the sun was beginning to set.

"I guess I better get going," she said while getting up. "It was nice talking to you again. I'll try to come again tomorrow."

She walked towards the exit, but stopped thinking that she heard something. She turned around hoping to see DJ awake, but saw that DJ remained motionless. She sighed and left the room and headed back to the guild house.

"I'm back," Katara said as she entered Team Stardust's guild house.

"Hey Katara," Blitz said. "How's DJ doing."

"He's still unconscious," Katara said sadly as he plopped into one of the chairs in the lounge.

"Will he ever wake up?" Leaf asked.

"Why?" Katara said, becoming hostile towards the gecko Pokémon. "Wondering if you should be looking for another _alpha_? Maybe you should join up with that Graveler since he's the one who did this to DJ!"

"That is not my intent," Leaf said calmly. "I was merely asking if you knew if he would wake up. I have no intention of looking for another alpha, even if Alpha does not wake up. I see him more as a friend than an alpha, I only call him that out of habit."

Katara looked down, feeling guilty over implying that Leaf did not care. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"It is alright," Leaf said.

"Anyway, Nurse Audrey said that she doesn't know when DJ will wake up. She said that all of his wounds have, for the most part, healed, but he's in some kind of coma."

"It must be due to his head injury," Blade said.

"That's what Audrey said," Katara said depressedly.

"Then the only thing we can do is wait and hope that he makes a full recovery," Grace said.

Before any more could be said, an explosion could be heard from outside, causing the whole house to shake.

"What the heck was that?!" Bertha asked in shock.

"Let's find out!" Asura said as he and the rest of the team leapt up and ran outside.

Once outside Team Stardust saw a face that they hoped that they'd never see again. Standing in front of their team house was a Bisharp that they all knew quite well.

"I thought that would get your attention," the Bisharp said as he glowered at the team.

"Bishop," Asura growled. "What are you doing here?"

"What, can't I see my favorite exploration team?" Bishop asked, his voice oozing with sarcasm. Seeing Team Stardust's expressions he chuckled. "Guess not. Anyway, I'm here to get my revenge on you for imprisoning me. Though it seems that one of you is missing. Ah, well. I'll deal with him later."

Katara growled at this. "You think you can beat us?" she asked. "Yeah right. There's only one of you and eight of us. There's no way that you can win."

"That would be the case if I were alone," Bishop said. "However, I brought some friends that were willing to help me out."

At this ten Pokémon stepped out from around Team Stardust's guild house. There was a Gliscor, Serviper, Scrafty, two Tyrogue, a Skarmory, a Throh, a Sableye, a Koffing, and a Barbaracle. The last three Katara recognized.

"Team Desolation?!" she asked in astonishment and slight fear.

"That's right," Shell said.

"Amazing the friends you find in prison," Bishop said sinisterly. "They all agreed to help me with my revenge, as long as I paid them a small sum of money, though Team Desolation was more than willing to work for free as long as they got to kill the little Froakie. Now," Bishop addressed his 'friends'. "Get 'em!"

Bishop and the group of criminals converged on Team Stardust and attacked. Team Stardust fought with everything they had, but they were slowly becoming overwhelmed. With each hit they made on one of the outlaws, they would be hit twice as hard.

At this point, Katara was terrified. She had never been so scared in her life. She had been cut off from the rest of the team and was now defending against Team Desolation alone. She managed to dodge the majority of the attacks, but she was beginning to tire. Finally, Shell got a lucky shot and hit her with a smack down attack, causing her to fall on her back.

"Well it seems out little game has come to an end," Shell said sinisterly, approaching her slowly, relishing in her fear. "No I can finally exact my revenge." His claw became shrouded in a watery blue aura. "NOW DIE!"

Before he could pierce her with his razor shell, a dark blue aura sphere shot out and hit Shell, sending him flying into the outlaws that were fighting the rest of Team Stardust. Everyone froze at this and then turned to towards where the aura sphere came from. Standing there, still covered in bandages, was DJ.

Katara was relieved that DJ was there, but then she noticed something about him. The look in his eyes looked like that of a wild Pokémon and there was a shroud of dark blue aura surrounding him.

_That's what he looked like when he fought Shiftry!_ Katara realized. _So_ _I didn't imagine that._

"So the final member of Team Stardust graces us with his presence," Bishop said, getting over his shock. "Don't think that you'll make a difference. You have no chance to-"

He was cut off by DJ suddenly appearing in front of him and slamming his paw into his gut. There was a brief flash as the energy in DJ's paw was released and Bishop was sent flying.

_When did he get so fast?!_ Asura thought as everyone stared at the Riolu in shock. _I barely saw him move!_

"That was our employer you little runt!" the Throh said angrily. "You'll pay for that!"

The Throh then attempted to hit DJ, but DJ held up a paw and caught the Throh's fist. DJ turned towards the Throh and stared at him with his animalistic eyes, causing the Throh to sweat. DJ tightened his grip on the Throh's hand and with a primal roar, DJ threw him towards where Bishop landed, effectively hurting the Throh and Bishop. He then turned to the remaining outlaws and growled before unleashing a roar that could be heard throughout Miracle Town. He then jumped at the outlaws, teeth bared and paws outstretched.


	23. Chapter 23

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 23: Truth Revealed and a New Resolve**

"RAAHHH!" DJ roared as he charged at the still shocked outlaws. He formed an aura sphere, that was the same color as the aura surrounding him, and launched it at one of the Tyrogue, sending it flying into a tree. This managed to break the outlaws of their stupor and they all charged DJ at once.

The Gliscor swooped down and attempted hit DJ with an x-scissor attack from behind, but before he could land the attack DJ back-flipped over him and slammed both of his paws on his back and released the energy stored in his paws. The Gliscor screeched in pain and hit the ground hard.

The two Tyrogue ran on either side of DJ and sent a barrage of punches and kicks at him. However, DJ avoided all of their attacks. The Tyrogue on his left got frustrated and tried to hit DJ in the face with a rock smash, but DJ caught his fist. The Tyrogue struggled to break DJ's grip on his hand, but could not. DJ's grip tightened and threw the Tyrogue into his twin. He then shot an aura sphere at the downed fighting types.

DJ was then hit by a steel wing, courtesy of the Skarmory, sending him into the air. The Skarmory tried to capitalize on this with a slash attack, but DJ pivoted in the air and slammed his foot in the Skarmory's face sending it spiraling out of control.

As soon as DJ landed he was assaulted by Smoke and Dusk. Smoke shot several globs of brown sludge at DJ while Dusk sent a shadow ball at him. The attacks hit dead on, but as soon as the smoke cleared DJ could be seen still standing. DJ growled at them and charged them, his paws covered in a shadowy aura in the form of claws. Before the duo could react DJ had slashed the two causing them to cry out in pain.

The Throh that DJ had thrown came back and tried to hit DJ from behind, but DJ spun around and slashed the Throh across his chest with a shadow claw. Before the Throh could recover DJ slammed his paw into the Throh's stomach and used force palm, sending the Throh flying. As Throh was in the air, DJ chased after him and as soon as the Throh hit the ground DJ sent a low sweep into the Throh's side.

It was then Shell recovered from DJ's surprise attack. Seeing DJ he saw red and ran at DJ, his claw covered a watery blue blade. As soon as Shell was about to strike DJ with his razor shell DJ's arm shot out and caught Shell's wrist. DJ then turned and looked Shell in the eye and what Shell saw scared him. The look in DJ's eye reminded him of that of a wild Pokémon. Before he could react DJ had used force palm on him, sending him back a few feet. Before Shell could get up DJ had slammed both of his paws into his back and used another force palm, embedding Shell into the ground and knocking him out.

"Wow," Blitz said as he and the rest of Team Stardust watched DJ systematically take down Bishop's forces. "Since when is DJ this powerful?!"

"Whatever Alistair's teaching him I want to learn," Bertha said in bewilderment.

"I don't think Alistair taught him this," Katara said, gaining the attention of her team.

"What do you mean?" Asura asked.

"You see that aura that's surrounding him?" Katara asked. "That's the same aura that covered him when he fought Shiftry."

"What?!" Team Stardust exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something before?!"

"Because I wasn't sure what I said," Katara said guiltily. "I thought I was just imagining it."

"Obviously not," Asura said as he returned his attention to the battle.

Bishop grunted in pain as he got to his feet and looked around. He was shocked when he saw the Riolu from earlier fighting and winning against his hired forces.

'Damn,' Bishop thought. 'At this rate that brat will take them all out in a matter of seconds. I need to get out before-'

Bishop's mental tirade was cut short when DJ appeared in front of him and hit him with a force palm. Bishop went skidding back a couple of yards, but remained standing.

'There goes that plan,' Bishop thought as he dodged an aura sphere.

DJ slashed at Bishop wildly with his shadow claw forcing Bishop to counter with metal claw. The sound of metal clashing against metal could be heard throughout the area as the two clashed. Bishop then made the mistake of aiming a metal claw at DJ's head. DJ ducked down and slashed his claw against Bishop's midsection.

Normally such an attack would do little damage against a steel type like Bishop, however, this was not one of these times. Bishop grunted in pain when he felt the DJ's shadow claw cut through his metal body, completely surprising him. Before he could react DJ kicked his foot with low sweep, causing him to fall on his back. DJ then formed another aura sphere in his paw and instead of shooting it he slammed it into Bishop's stomach eliciting a pain-filled scream from Bishop before he passed out.

"No way," Grace said in amazement. "He beat all of them."

"Way to go DJ!" Blitz shouted.

DJ's ear twitched at the sound f Blitz's voice and turned around and growled. Upon turning, everyone saw the look in DJ's eyes.

"Move!" Drake managed to say before DJ lunged at them.

Team Stardust managed to jump away as DJ slammed his palm down where Blitz was standing, causing the ground to crack and shatter.

"What the hell DJ?!" Blitz shouted. "You almost hit me!"

DJ's only response was a growl. DJ then ran at Blitz and slashed at him with a shadow claw. Blitz was able to counter with an iron tail. DJ pressed against Blitz's tail, trying to break his guard but was hit from the side by Bertha's bone.

"What the hell DJ?!" Bertha shouted. "It's us!"

"RAAHH!" DJ roared before running at Bertha and attempting to use force palm.

Bertha brought up her bone in defense, blocking DJ's paw. The energy then shot from DJ's paw and Bertha was pushed back, her feet digging up the ground. Bertha looked at her bone and her eyes widened in shock when she saw a crack in it. The bone she used was that of a Skarmory, meaning that the bone was infused with metal making it denser, so the fact that DJ could crack was impressive.

She was broken out of her musings by an aura sphere. She used her bone as a bat and managed to bat it away, only for DJ to appear in front of her and send her flying with a force palm.

At this Blitz unleashed a thunderbolt at DJ, hitting him directly and causing a small explosion. When the smoke cleared DJ was seen standing and glaring at Blitz. DJ gave another roar and leapt at DJ only to be intercepted by Blade who had flown at DJ with a fury cutter attack.

DJ pivoted in the air and landed in a crouch before kicking off the ground and flying at Blade with shadow claw. Blade countered with a x-scissor attack and kicked DJ back to the ground.

As soon as he hit the ground DJ had already formed an aura sphere and launched it at Blade. Blade used his scythes to cut through it, leaving him open for a split second. That split second was all it took for DJ to jump at him and hit him with a force palm, sending him flying into the guild house.

Drake then shot a dragon pulse at DJ hitting him in the back. When DJ hit the ground he immediately jumped to his feet and lunged at Drake. Drake then used dig allowing him to dodge the attack. DJ then slammed his paw on the ground causing the earth under him to shake and crack. The ensuing shock wave caused Drake to shoot out of the ground leaving him wide open to a force palm.

Blitz then tried to hit DJ with a volt tackle, but DJ used his paws and cut him. Blitz pushed him back a few feet, his feet creating small trenches as he pushed back against the electrified mouse. DJ then gave a feral roar and lifted Blitz of the ground and slammed him back down causing Blitz to lose focus over the electricity that surrounded him and explode.

A light blue light enveloped DJ's body, lifting him off the ground. DJ tried to struggle, but he could not move his body.

"Snap out of it DJ," Jackson said as he struggled to hold DJ with his psychic.

DJ roared again and formed an aura sphere in one of his paws and sent it towards Jackson, forcing him to drop the psychic. DJ dropped to the ground and ran at Jackson. Jackson sent several shadow balls at DJ, but DJ cut through them with his shadow claws. DJ got right in front of Jackson, forming an aura sphere in his paw, and hit Jackson in the face with it, sending Jackson flying.

DJ turned at the sound of approaching footsteps just in time to see Asura and Grace running at him. Asura lashed out with a thunder punch which DJ was able to dodge, but was not able to dodge an iron head from Grace. The attack sent DJ flying back, but he got to his feet quickly and growled at the duo.

"DJ, snap out of it!" Grace pleaded as she prepared to defend against the feral Riolu.

DJ only roared and ran at the duo, his paws wrapped in shadows. Asura growled out in frustration and threw a psyshock at the approaching Riolu.

DJ jumped over the attack and thrust his shadow covered paw at Asura, but Grace intercepted it, her body gaining a slightly metallic color. DJ growled in annoyance and lashed out with his leg and hit Grace in the side.

She grunted in pain, but used her giant mouth and used it to deliver a strong bite to DJ's forearm. DJ gave a shout of pain but wrenched his arm out of Grace's flytrap mouth and slammed a force palm into her gut.

Seeing this, Asura hit DJ across the face with a thunder punch. DJ reeled back, but responded with a shadow claw across Asura's chest. DJ then spun around and kicked Asura across the face.

DJ turned to Leaf and charged at him. Leaf was hesitant about attacking his alpha and this lead to him being hit by a force palm. While Leaf was airborne, DJ threw two aura spheres at him and sent him crashing through the window of their guild house.

DJ then turned to the final member of Team Stardust and growled.

"DJ," Katara said as she took a step back. "Please snap out of it."

DJ gave another feral roar and charged at Katara, but right as he was about to strike her he stopped. Katara looked into DJ's eyes and saw them dilate, changing back to the way they were.

"DJ?" Katara asked.

DJ's eyes then contracted again and he reared his arm back and was about to strike her when a light blue sphere hit him and sent him flying.

Katara whipped her head towards the direction the attack came from and saw Alistair standing there with his paws outstretched, indicating that he had fired the attack.

"Alistair!" Katara exclaimed.

"Stay back Katara," Alistair said not taking his eyes off DJ who had gotten back to his feet. "He's still dangerous."

As if to prove his point, DJ let out another feral roar and charged the older fighting type. In response Alistair sidestepped the attack and kneed DJ in the gut. Before DJ could recover, Alistair created a glowing bone in his paws and struck him across the face.

DJ stumbled back, but remained standing. DJ then lunged at Alistair with shadow claw, determined to tear Alistair apart.

Alistair blocked and parried all of DJ's wild slashes with his bone club. Alistair then smacked DJ's paw away and then slammed DJ in the gut with his bone club, effectively knocking the wind out of the him. Alistair then slammed his club into the ground and used it as a lever to pole vaulted over DJ, landing behind him. Alistair then hit DJ at the base of his neck with a chop.

Immediately after the hit the dark blue aura that surrounded DJ dissipated and DJ collapsed.

"What did you do to him?" Katara asked tentatively.

"I just hit him in a pressure point," Alistair said, picking up the downed Riolu. "He'll be fine in a couple of hours." He then looked around at the destruction, the unconscious outlaws, and the recovering member of Team Stardust. "It looks like DJ did a number on everyone. Help your teammates and call Officer Magnezone. We have much to discuss."

After Officer Magnezone and several other officer had shown up and recovered the downed outlaws, and given Team Stardust the reward for their capture, Team Stardust and Alistair entered Team Stardust's guild house, which was damaged in some places, and laid DJ down in his bed. Alistair sent Asura to inform his father and Nurse Audrey about what happened. Currently, Everyone was sitting in DJ's room, waiting for DJ to awaken.

"I still do not understand how he was able to get up," Audrey said. "He should not have been able to wake up so soon."

"I believe Katara was the cause of DJ's premature awakening," Alistair said.

"Me?" Katara asked in shock. "How did I make him wake him up?"

"Remember, you are bonded to him," Alistair said. "When you were fighting the outlaws you said that you were afraid. DJ was able to feel that fear even in his unconscious state. This caused him to wake up and use... that power."

"What _was_ that power anyway?" Blitz asked.

"... I'd rather not say until DJ wakes up," Alistair muttered. "I wish you had told us sooner Katara."

Katara looked down guiltily, but said nothing.

Almost as if he heard his name, DJ gave a groan, indicating that he was waking up. Everyone turned to him just as he opened his eyes.

"Ugh," DJ grumbled what hit me. He then noticed that his team was looking at him with slight fear. "Why's everyone looking at me like that?"

He made to sit up, but winced in pain and clutched his torso. Audrey moved to his side and gently pushed him back down.

"Please stay down," Audrey said forcefully. "Your injuries are still healing."

"What happened to me?" DJ asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tobias asked.

"I remember that we were fighting that Graveler." DJ said, his eyes closed as he thought. His eyes then shot open when his memory of that day returned to him. "He blew me up and sent me flying off the edge of that canyon! How long was I out?"

Tobias looked at Audrey and Alistair before answering. "You've been unconscious for a week," Tobias answered.

"A whole week?!" DJ asked in shock. "Damn, I was really out."

"Is that all you remember?" Alistair asked.

"Umm..." DJ said. "No, that's all I remember."

"You mean you don't remember taking out _eleven_ outlaws?" Blitz asked incredulously. "_And_ attacking us?"

"I did what?!" DJ shouted.

Alistair glared at Blitz before sighing and turning to DJ. "Unfortunately, yes. You did attack your team," Alistair said.

"N-no way!" DJ shouted, sitting up despite Audrey's protests. "There's no way that I would hurt them!" He then turned to his team. "Right?"

The team looked away, not meeting DJ's eyes.

"Right?" DJ asked, as tone of desperation in his voice. When Team Stardust still did not answer him he looked down. "So it's true. I did attack you guys."

"But it wasn't your totally your fault," Alistair said, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"What do you mean by that," Asura asked.

Alistair sighed. "I believe it's time we told you the truth."

"Truth?" Katara asked. "What truth."

"The truth behind DJ's power," Alistair said. "But in order to explain that power I must tell the story of the first human that appeared here in Miracle Town."

"The first human?" DJ asked. A memory then surfaced. "You mean the other Riolu. Luke.

"That's right," Alistair said. "As I told you before, there was another human that appeared here several years ago. And like you, he was also a Riolu with an enhanced sensitivity to the aura. When he first appeared, Tobias, Katara's father, and I had already formed Team SATE along with Tobias' little sister Ester when Luke first appeared. We had been a team for about three years so when we found him we offered him a place on our team, which he accepted gratefully. Over the years he trained and became a big part of Team SATE. But all that changed when, he activated... that power."

"That power?" Katara repeated. "You mean that dark aura that was coming off of DJ?"

"Yes," Alistair answered. "We dubbed it primal aura."

"Primal aura?" Blade asked curiously.

"Yes," Alistair said. "We called it that because, like DJ, he would lose control and go on a rampage. On top of that, the primal aura has a secondary effect."

"Secondary effect?" DJ asked.

"That's correct," Alistair said. "You see, each time Luke used it, it slowly began to corrupt him."

"What do you mean by corrupt him?" Bertha asked.

"Let me finish and I'll tell you," Alistair said. "What I mean is that after each use, the primal aura would have an effect on Luke's brain. Turning him more sinister and dark. We tried to convince him to stop using the power, but the power was apparently addictive and he would activate it constantly. He began to purposly put himself in dangerous circumstances that forced the primal aura to activate. And each time he would lose himself."

"What happened to him?" DJ whispered.

"He used the primal aura so much that he became completely corrupted," Alistair said. "He became evil and began to commit heinous crimes. It became so bad that we were forced to fight him. We fought long and hard, but before we could land the finishing blow he escaped and we haven't heard from him since."

Everyone was silent as they allowed the information to sink in. DJ looked down at his paws in contemplation, while the rest of Team Stardust looked at him warily.

"So does that mean," DJ said, breaking the silence. "that I'll end up like him?"

"DJ you must understand that it's not the simple," Alistair tried to reason with the young Riolu. "There are many factors that must be taken into-"

"WILL I OR WILL I NOT?!" DJ shouted, glaring at Alistair.

Alistair looked at DJ for a minute, contemplating how to answer before he looked down and sighed. "Yes," he said. "Eventually you will become corrupted by the power too."

DJ's tensed his paws and clinched his teeth. He looked at everyone in the room and saw the fear that lingered in their eyes, except for Katara whose eyes showed pity. His whole body then slumped as if he lost the will to do anything. He then got up and walked out of the room.

Katara then turned to her team and glared at them. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" she shouted startling everyone. "How could you all say _nothing_ to him?!"

"Well, you heard what Alistair said," Blitz said nervously. "He said that eventually DJ will snap."

"Do you _really _believe that _DJ_ will end up like that?" Katara asked incredulously.

"I've seen it happen Katara," Tobias said. "I thought that if we could stop him from using it he would be okay, but he has already used it twice. It's only a matter of time."

"If you really think that then you're an idiot," Katara said, shocking everyone. "This is DJ we're talking about. The kind, crazy, and occasionally annoying fuzz ball that has put his life at stake for this team. He has fought his hardest everyday for this team and he's saved several of our lives, including mine. Do you really think that _he _ would betray us?!"

"But he attacked us earlier," Asura pointed out.

"He wasn't in complete control then," Katara countered. "Besides, he was fighting it the whole time!"

"How can you be sure?" Drake asked.

"I could feel it," Katara said. "Through the link we share I could feel his regret while he was fighting us, deep down he was resisting the primal aura's influence."

"You don't understand," Tobias said. "We've seen it before. It _will_ happen."

"Bull shit!" Katara shouted. "Just because that other human turned evil doesn't mean that DJ will! And if he does, I will personally stop him, but I know it won't come to that." She then turned to the rest of Team Stardust. "DJ's our friend and right now he feels scared and alone. He needs us now more than ever. We have to help him!"

Everyone was silent as they stared at Katara. The silence continued to stretch on until Jackson stepped forward.

"Katara's right!" he said. "DJ has always fought for us and there's no way that DJ is a threat to us. He gave me the confidence to face my brother. If that's not a good guy then I don't know what is."

"That's right," Blitz said. "He's helped us all at least once. Hell, he even helped Asura get closure over Jet."

Asura sighed at this. "He's right," Asura said. "DJ's not a threat. He's a member of Team Stardust and we won't let him turn evil."

"Right!" Team Stardust cheered.

Tobias, Alistair, and Audrey stared at the young team and could not help but smile. Here was a team that was extremely loyal to their teammate and trusted him even though he had a power that could kill them all.

"Now let's go find DJ and tell that we don't care about that power and that we'll help him through this!" Katara said, getting an affirmative cheer before leaving the room to search for DJ.

"They really trust him," Tobias said.

"They do," Alistair sighed. "I just hope, for their sake and DJ's, that their trust is not misplaced."

"Where the hell is he?!" Blitz shouted in aggravation.

"He must have run off thinking that he was a threat," Katara said sadly.

"Well we need to spread out and search for him," Asura said. "He couldn't have gotten far with his injuries."

"Right," everyone responded as they split up.

"DJ," Katara said to herself. "Where are you."

**Crystal Cave:**

DJ sat in the center of the cave staring at the hole in the ceiling, the very hole that he made when he fell through the sky.

DJ sighed and looked at his paws. 'Is he right?' he asked himself. 'Will I really become like that?'

'_Would it be so bad_,'a voice in DJ's head said.

'No,' DJ argued. 'I don't want to hurt my friends!'

'_But think of the power_,' the voice said.

'No! Shut up!'

'_Think about it. All that power. You could do anything you want and no one will stand in your way._'

"SHUT UP!" DJ yelled out loud.

"Well isn't that rude," came a voice. DJ spun around and saw someone that he wished he would never see again.

"Shiftry," DJ growled.

"You remember me," Shiftry said in mock amusement. "I'm so flattered."

Meanwhile, Katara was walking around the perimeter of Miracle calling DJ's name. She had been searching for DJ for the past hour without any luck. She was beginning to fear that DJ had run away from Miracle Town.

"Dammit," Katara grumbled. "Where are you DJ?"

She was beginning to lose hope when she suddenly felt a spike of emotions from DJ. She then looked at towards the forest.

"Don't tell me he's there..."

**Back at Crystal Cave:**

"GAAHH!" DJ cried out in pain as he was sent flying by a strong gust of wind generated by Shiftry's fans.

"Where's all that strength from before," Shiftry taunted as he stalked towards the downed Riolu. "Come on, that can't be all you've got."

"Dammit," DJ said as he slowly got to his feet. He quickly formed an aura sphere and threw it at Shiftry.

Shiftry lazily batted the glowing sphere away with a leaf fan and shot an energy ball at DJ. The attack hit DJ dead on causing him to cry out in pain and hit the ground hard.

"This is just pathetic," Shiftry scoffed. "Where's that power you showed back then."

DJ growled before slashing at him with a shadow claw. The attack managed to strike Shiftry's side, but did little to no damage. In retaliation, Shiftry kicked DJ away and hit him with a dark pulse. DJ hit the ground again with another cry of pain.

"Come on," Shiftry said. "Show me that power again."

'_Listen to him,_' the voice said. '_Use our power and make him bow down to our power._'

"No," DJ said. "I won't use that power."

"Pity," Shiftry sighed, his leaf fan glowing green as he approached DJ. "Then die."

'Maybe I should give,' DJ thought as he watched Shiftry approach. 'Maybe's it's for the best. This way I won't hurt my team.' DJ looked up at Shiftry who towered over him with his arm raised, ready to end his life. 'I'm sorry guys. It's for the best.'

Before Shifty could cut through DJ's neck a water pulse came from the side and hit Shiftry and sent him into a wall.

DJ looked in the direction of the attack as was shocked to see Katara there. Seeing DJ, Katara rushed to his side.

"DJ are you okay?" Katara asked in worry. Without waiting for an answer she quickly checked him over.

While this was going on Shiftry had gotten up, but was acting strangely. He was slashing wildly and running into walls.

"I need to get you to Nurse Audrey so she can heal you." Katara said, not paying attention to Shiftry.

"Why?" DJ asked, gaining Katara attention. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because you're part of Team Stardust," Katara said simply.

"But-" DJ tried to argue.

"No buts," Katara said sternly. "No one cares if you have that power. You're a member of Team Stardust, don't ever forget that."

DJ could only stare at her in shock as she continued to tend his wounds. She did not care if he was a threat. She saw him as a friend.

This moment was ruined when Shiftry snapped out of his confusion.

"RAAH!" Shiftry roared in rage and charged the duo.

"Stay here," Katara said. "I'll handle this."

With that Katara jumped at Shiftry and launched two water pulses at Shiftry. Shiftry sliced through them with a leaf blade and shouted in anger at Katara.

DJ watched the fight in shock. 'She's risking herself for me.' DJ thought. 'Even though I'm a risk to her and everyone around me, she still fights for me. Why? Why is she doing this?"

He was pulled out of his thought when he heard Katara cried out in pain. DJ looked up and saw Katara get hit by a leaf blade.

"Katara!" DJ shouted. He tried to get to his feet, but winced in pain when his injuries flared up.

'_Use our power,_' the voice said.

'No,' DJ thought. 'I won't use that power!'

'_Don't you want to save your friend?_' the voice questioned.

'Yes I want to save her, but...' DJ thought watching Shiftry walk towards Katara. 'But I won't... I won't use that power!'

DJ rose to his feet, ignoring the pain. He glared at Shiftry before running at him.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!" DJ shouted, causing Shiftry to turn.

When he saw who had yelled, Shiftry smirked. "Oh yeah?" Shiftry questioned. "And what are you going to do to sto-"

He cut himself short when he saw DJ's leg ignite. Before Shiftry could react, DJ kicked Shiftry across the face with his burning leg. He then hit Shiftry over and over again with force palms and several more blaze kicks. DJ then created an aura sphere in his paw and slammed it into Shiftry's gut, sending him crashing into a wall and knocking him out.

DJ slumped to the ground, completely exhausted from the fight. Katara rushed to his side.

"DJ!" Katara said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," DJ huffed. "Why are you helping me?"

"I told you why," Katara said. "You're a member of Team Stardust and a friend. It doesn't matter if you have a power that _can_ make you dangerous. You're still a friend and I trust you with my life. Everyone at Team Stardust trusts you, don't forget that."

DJ looked at Katara in awe. She still cared for him. He felt tears in his eyes and couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"Thank you Katara," DJ chocked out. "Thank you."

Twenty minutes later Officer Magnezone arrived and recovered Shiftry. Tobias, Alistair, and Team Stardust were also there, getting a briefing from Katara. After she told them what had occurred Tobias turned to DJ.

"You shouldn't have run away like that," he said. "We were all worried about you."

DJ looked down in shame before mumbling a short 'sorry'. Tobias just sighed.

"It's fine," Tobias sighed. "Let's get you back to the guild. I'm sure Audrey will want to give you a check up."

DJ nodded and allowed Katara to help him to his feet, but as he passed Alistair he spoke. "Gramps," DJ said gaining Alistair's attention. "I promise you, that I will not turn out like Luke. This I swear."

With that, DJ allowed himself to be escorted back to the guild.

Alistair looked at DJ's retreating form and smiled lightly before sighing. "I just hope that you can keep that promise."


	24. Chapter 24

**Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 24: A New Threat**

Two weeks have passed since the 'incident' and things have more or less returned to normal. DJ was released from Audrey's care a week prior, but was temporarily taken off active duty and forbidden from doing any strenuous activity, he was even forbidden from wearing his weights, though he did sneak out and work his new move. Only Leaf knew that he would sneak out and DJ made him promise not to tell. Currently, the members of Team Stardust are finishing up repairs on their guild house. DJ, Katara, and Leaf were on the roof, nailing new shingles on it.

At the moment, DJ's frustration was rising. The cause: the overly concerned water type sitting next to him.

"...For the last time Katara. I'm _fine_," DJ said, tired of the young water type's constant worrying.

True to his words, DJ had recovered quicker than Audrey anticipated. He still had some bandages on his midsection, right arm, left leg, and a little soreness, but other than that, he was fully healed.

"Well _excuse_ me for worrying," Katara huffed. "Audrey said you shouldn't be doing strenuous activities."

"But I'm basically fully healed," DJ argues. "Besides, I'm only hammering nails."

"Katara is right Alpha," Leaf said. "You still have not fully recovered. You should not concern yourself with such chores."

"Not you too," DJ grumbled. "Look. I have been sitting in my bed for the past two weeks. I _need_ to do something before I go insane!"

"But you have been going out everyday to-" Leaf said only to be interrupted when DJ covered his mouth with a paw.

"What he means is going out for a walk around the guild house. Right, Leaf?"

"R-right," Leaf stuttered out, remembering his promise. "Forgive me Alpha."

Katara's eyes narrowed."What were you going to say Leaf?"

"I cannot say," Leaf said.

"And why is that," Katara said, gaining a tick mark.

"Alpha made me promise not to tell anyone."

Katara then turned to DJ, and gave him a sickly sweet smile that sent chills down his spine.

"What have you been doing DJ?" Katara asked with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"U-um, l-like Leaf said, I've been going on short walks," DJ said nervously.

"You wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?"

DJ began to sweat bullets at this question. "O-of course not!"

Katara continued to stare at him, trying to break his will.

"U-uh, uh. Well would you look at that! I'm done with the shingles. I'm felling pretty tired, so I'm going inside!" DJ said, attempting to change the subject. He got up to move, but Katara blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what you've been up to!" she shouted.

"Uh," DJ stuttered, trying to think of a way out of this situation. "I think I hear Asura calling me! Gotta' go!"

DJ dashed around Katara, ran to the ladder, and quickly climbed down with Katara right behind him.

"Get back here DJ!" Katara shouted as she chased him around the guild house.

"AHHH!" DJ screamed as he ran. "I'm not supposed to over exert myself remember?! GAHH!"

Leaf sweat-dropped as he watched Katara chase DJ. _Why do all of my alphas have to be crazy?_

At that moment, Asura stepped outside and was greeted with the sight of Katara catching DJ and putting him in a headlock. "Break it up you two," Asura said, stepping out of the guild house. "We're done with the repairs, so Grace wants us all to go out and celebrate."

Katara gave a annoyed huff and released DJ, much to his relief.

"Okay then let's go!" DJ said happily, thankful for the subject change.

"This conversation isn't over," Katara said with a small glare, causing DJ to gulp involuntarily.

Five minutes later, Team Stardust was sitting at Frosty's Ice Cream, enjoying themselves. Though Drake, Leaf, and Bertha did not get any ice cream, because of their typing, they were content with simply sitting down and talking (or in Drake's case, listening).

"So can I start going on missions again?" DJ asked after he finished his ice cream.

"No," Grace said, giving DJ a stern look. "You suffered a lot of damage from falling off that canyon, fighting those outlaws, _and_ fighting Shiftry. You need to _rest_."

"But, I keep telling you I'm fine!" DJ said. To prove his point he started throwing punches and kick, though he over extended a kick and ended up slightly wincing.

"See?" Katara said when she saw DJ wince. "You're still hurt. You need to heal and do nothing."

"But I've been doing that for two weeks!" DJ groaned, before giving Leaf a swift glare as if daring him to say something. "I haven't been able to do anything, and I'm bored."

"Oh, stop being such a baby," Blitz said. "Most Pokémon, me included, would kill for that kind of vacation."

"Well I'm not most Pokémon," DJ said childishly.

"That's an understatement," Jackson whispered to Bertha, forcing her to cover her mouth in order to stop herself from bursting out with laughter.

"You're just going to have to tough it out," Grace said as she turned her attention back to her ice cream. "You're not going on missions and that's final."

DJ sat back down and pouted childishly as he mumbled under his breath about overprotective team members.

"What was that DJ?" Grace asked in mock confusion. "You want to be confined in your room again?"

"N-NO!" DJ shouted, causing everyone to laugh at his expense.

**The Next Day**

"Ugh. I still can't believe they won't let me go out on missions," DJ grumbled as he aimlessly walked through the streets. "I keep telling them I'm fine, but nooo, I still have to rest!"

DJ sighed in exasperation. It was only midday and he was already bored out of his mind. He had already practiced his blaze kick to the best of his abilities considering that he did not have anyone to spar with and he was becoming increasingly bored. He debated visiting Alistair, but ruled that out thinking that Alistair would tell him to go back to the guild house and get some rest.

_Why can't I be someone who can just sit down and be still?_ DJ questioned. _I'm so bored! I wish something would happen._

No sooner than that thought had crossed DJ's mind, the sound of an explosion echoed through the streets, startling those that were walking. DJ looked in the direction that the explosion came from and saw a plume of smoke rise into the air near his current location.

"What the hell was that?!" he said. "Well I did want something to happen, so I might as well check it out."

Without another thought, DJ sped off to where the smoke was coming from.

DJ skidded to a halt when he reached his location and, to his horror, he recognized the building that was currently expelling smoke. It was Kangaskhan's Storage. In front of the damaged building stood Cana who was facing off against a group of seven Pokémon composed of a Beedrill, a Trevenant, two Gastrodon (one of each color), a Tyrunt, a Scrafty, and an Aromatisse.

"Just hand over the item and we'll leave you and your shop alone," the Aromatisse said with an arrogant edge to her voice.

"I would sooner die than give it to you!" Cana shouted in defiance. Despite her bravado, it was clear that she was exhausted. Her body was covered in bruises and scratched, except for her stomach area.

"But would you let your child suffer the same fate," the Aromatisse asked, a sinister smile plastered on her face.

At this, Cana's whole body stiffened and she put a hand on her pouch protectively. It was then DJ realized that Mai was in her pouch.

The Aromatisse then turned to the Beedrill and gave a head gesture in Cana's direction. The Beedrill nodded and took off towards the Kangaskhan, its stingers aimed at her pouch.

Having seen enough of this, DJ leapt into action. He dashed forward at high speeds and intercepted the Beedrill before it could reach Cana. He then jumped in the air and kicked the Beedrill in the face with a blaze kick, sending it careening into the ground.

"DJ!" Cana exclaimed in shock.

"Hey Auntie Cana," DJ greeted. "Don't worry about these guys. I'll handle them."

"Oh no your not!" Cana said, instantly shifting into 'protective-mother mode'. "You're still injured. You should be in bed!"

"Not you too!" DJ said with a face fault. "I keep telling everyone I'm fine! Besides," DJ slipped into a battle stance. "We don't really have time to argue. You need to keep Mai safe, and continuing to fight will only put her in harm's way."

Cana wanted to argue with the Riolu, but she could not think of a valid argument. Eventually she sighed in resignation.

"Fine, just be careful." she said as she took shelter in her damaged building.

"I always am," DJ said, throwing her a bright smile.

"You think _you_ can stop us?" the Aromatisse asked in disbelief. "Ha! That's funny. You're just one, _crippled_ little pup. What can you possibly do?"

"Come at me and find out," DJ said with a smirk, bringing out his paw and curling his fingers and uncurling them in the universal sign for 'bring it'.

Becoming enraged at the young Riolu's attitude, the Aromatisse shouted at her associates.

"Get him!"

_Here they come!_ DJ thought as he watched the group advance.

DJ quickly jumped in the air to dodge a shadow claw from the Trevenant and countered with a blaze kick to it's face, sending it stumbling back. He was then forced to leap back when the two Gastrodon shot two water pulses at him. He responded by sending two aura spheres at the duo, hitting them and shocking all those present.

"How the hell do you know aura sphere?!" the Aromatisse asked in shock and anger.

"Fuck you that's how," DJ responded cheekily only to dodge a fairy wind attack from a pissed off Aromatisse.

He was then forced to roll out of the way as the Beedrill from earlier recovered and attempted to stab the small Riolu with its stinger that was currently glowing purple. DJ then lunged at the Beedrill with shadow claw, but it blocked the claws with its stingers. Before DJ could do more he was tackled from the side by the Tyrunt.

DJ recovered quickly and slammed his paw into the dinosaur Pokémon's side and unleashed the energy that was stored in it. The Tyrunt howled in pain as it was sent tumbling back. Before it could get up DJ sent an aura sphere at it, knocking it back even further.

He was then forced to duck when a focus blast shot over his head. Seeing his attacker was the Scrafty, DJ charged it and tried to use force palm, only for the Scrafty to counter with a brick break. The Scrafty then jumped at DJ, trying to hit him with a high jump kick, but DJ leaned backward and the attack soared over his head, inches from his face. Scrafty then hit the ground and gave a cry of pain, feeling the effects of missing with high jump kick. Seeing this DJ kicked it in the side with a blaze kick, sending the Scrafty skidding across the ground.

DJ was then sent flying by a powerful fairy wind, taking a considerable amount of damage. The Beedrill tried to take advantage of DJ being airborne and sent several purple needles at him, but DJ managed to pivot in midair and knock them aside with a blaze kick.

As soon as he touched the ground he jumped to the side to avoid the two glowing horns/branches on its head. Knowing that an aura sphere would be ineffective against the ghost tree Pokémon, DJ decided to throw one at the Aromatisse, who barely managed to dodge the attack.

DJ was about to charge the Trevenant with a shadow claw when he felt an excruciating pain envelop his tail. He turned and saw that the Tyrunt had snuck up on him and bit down hard on his tail, impeding his movements. Before he could hit the Tyrunt, he was bombarded with a barrage of mud bombs. DJ grunted in pain as he brought up his arms in front of him in defense against the mud bombs since he could not dodge them due to the Tyrunt biting his tail. Thankfully, the Tyrunt was also stuck in the barrage of mud bombs and after a few seconds its grip lessened as it cried out in pain.

As soon as he felt the Tyrunt's grip on his tail lessen, DJ yanked his tail from its jaws and jumped away to get away from the hail of mud. When he was out of the way he sent several aura spheres at the Gastrodon before charging them.

Seeing the glowing spheres the Gastrodon tried to move out of the way, but the blue-green Gastrodon was hit by two aura spheres. Before the Gastrodon could recover DJ was in front of it, slashing it with dual shadow claws. DJ then turned and lunged at the second Gastrodon and hit it in the face with a force palm.

Before he could do anything else, he was hit from behind by a glowing pink orb and sent flying through the air. DJ hit the ground with a painful grunt and shakily got to his feet.

"Where's all that talk form before huh?" the Aromatisse asked cockily. "Looks like your all bark and no bite little pup."

DJ glared at the Aromatisse as he continued to struggle to his feet. He also felt his old wounds begin to flare up as he winced in pain. Seeing this the Aromatisse's smile grew larger. She then formed another moonblast as the rest of her cohorts surrounded her and glared at the Riolu.

"Now do me a favor and die!" she cackled as she fired the pink sphere at the prone Riolu.

DJ attempted to jump out of the way, but an intense pain shot through his left leg, stopping him from jumping out of the way. He brought up his arms in an attempt to block the attack, or at least lessen the damage, but before the attack hit a large torrent of water smashed into the sphere, detonating it before it hit DJ and shocking everyone.

"Looks like you could use some help DJ." a familiar voice said.

DJ turned to the sound of the voice and saw Team Odd Squad.

"Kimberly!" DJ exclaimed. "I've never been happier to see you guys."

"So you've been less happy to see us?" Davis said in mock hurt.

"What do you mean by that," Alex said.

"I was just saying that the way he said it made it sound like he doesn't like being around us," Davis said.

"I highly doubt that's what he meant."

"Well I'm just saying-"

"Will you two knock it off?" Garfield said. "We're her to help DJ remember?"

"Who the hell are you clowns?" the Aromatisse asked.

"We're Team Odd Squad!" Kimberly answered. "And we don't take kindly to people hurting our friends!"

"If you think that you can win, than you're as stupid as your team name!" the Aromatisse said arrogantly.

As soon as she said that everything went still and a cold aura seemed to come from Team Odd Squad.

"What did you say about our team name?" Katerina asked with a sinisterly sweet voice that caused everyone, including DJ, to sweat.

"Y-you heard me!" the Aromatisse said foolishly. "You're team name is stu- ACK!"

She was cut off by Katerina suddenly appearing in front of her and hitting here with a night slash.

"No one calls out team name stupid," Katerina said, glaring at the fairy type.

"YOU BITCH!" the Aromatisse screamed in outrage. She then turned to the rest of her cohorts. "KILL THEM ALL!"

Though they were hesitant to engage Team Odd Squad, Aromatisse's team charged them. Which proved to be a very foolish mistake.

The first one to go down was the Tyrunt. It had already taken a lot of damage from DJ and when its two "teammates" hit it with a barrage of mud bombs. It had charged Katerina, who was closest, and tried to bite her, only to be sent flying when she used night daze. The Tyrunt hit the ground and lost consciousness.

The next ones to fall were the two Gastrodon. The each shot a mix of water pulses and mud bombs at Davis, who simply dove, spun, and soared over the attacks. Having enough of being on the defensive, Davis switched to offense and dive-bombed the two slug Pokémon with sky attack. The green-blue Gastrodon was able to avoid the attack, but its counterpart was not so lucky. Davis slammed into the brown-pink Gastrodon and smashed it into the ground, knocking it out.

Enraged over the loss of its counterpart, the remaining Gastrodon shot multiple streams of brown water at Davis. Davis rocketed into the air in order to escape the muddy water and began to spin like a top in the air. His body was then coated in a light blue aura that swirled around his body. The aura then began to take the shape of a ball and with a shout, Davis launched the swirling ball at the final Gastrodon. Having no way to dodge the air slash, the Gastrodon was hit dead on and fell into unconsciousness.

The Beedrill was circling Kimberly and shooting multiple purple needles at her, but none of them were able to hit her.

"Hold still!" the Beedrill buzzed angrily as Kimberly continued to evade its attacks.

"If you insist," Kimberly said before she created a wave of water and rode it toward the Beedrill.

The Beedrill tried to get away, but was enveloped by the wave and sent crashing to the ground. Before it could get up, Kimberly slammed a light-blue glowing fist into its back, causing ice to cover its body and knocking out the bug type.

In another part of the area, Garfield was engaging the Scrafty in battle. The Scrafty shot a focus blast at Garfield, hoping to end the battle quickly. In response, Garfield shot a bolt of lightning at the hoodlum Pokémon's attack, causing it to explode. The Scrafty covered its eyes in an attempt to keep the smoke from getting into its eyes, but this proved to be a mistake. Garfield leapt through the smoke and before the Scrafty could react Garfield had already buried a focus punch into its gut, sending him flying. Before the Scrafty had even hit the ground, Garfield fired a thunder bolt at the airborne Pokémon, hitting it directly. The Scrafty was unconscious before it hit the ground.

This whole time DJ could only watch in amazement at Team Odd Squad's display of power. In less than five minutes they had taken down six Pokémon without breaking a sweat. That when he noticed that the Aromatisse was missing. He looked around the area, but could find no sign of the fragrance Pokémon.

"Looks like the Aromatisse got away," Katerina sighed in disappointment.

"Yeah, but at least we got the other six," Alex said.

"And you save me and my child." Everyone turned and saw Cana walking out with Mai in her pouch. "I can't thank you all enough for your help."

"What were they after anyway?" DJ asked curiously.

At this, Cana slightly stiffened. "T-they were just after some of my items," Cana said nervously.

DJ gave Cana a critical look. He did not need his ability to read emotions to know that she was hiding something, but before he could ask, Cana addressed Team Odd Squad.

"Not that I'm not thankful for your being here, but how did you know that the shop was being attacked? Most teams are out on missions at this time of day."

"Well we just got back from a week long mission and we saw the smoke, so we decided to check it out," Garfield answered. "I take it that's how you knew something was up DJ?"

"Yeah, I heard the explosion when I was walking through the streets," DJ answered. "When I saw the smoke, I decided to see what was up."

"Why were you walking in the streets and not doing missions with your team?" Davis questioned.

"Well..." DJ said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "I'm... sorta... not supposed to do strenuous activity."

"Damn right your not!" came a voice from behind the group.

When they turned to see who it was, DJ paled. Standing behind them, with his arms crossed and a stern glare locked on DJ, was Alistair.

"H-hey G-Gramps," DJ gulped nervously. "Fancy meeting you here."

After Magnezone was called to take the six criminals to prison, Alistair began to scold DJ about not following orders and putting himself in danger when he was still recovering, though after that Alistair told DJ he did a good job. Then when Team Stardust returned he was scolded _again_ by Asura, Grace, Katara, and Blade, who was more aggravated that his fur was disheveled. Like Alistair, they then commended for protecting Cana and Mai.

Seeing that DJ was well enough to go toe-to-toe with seven criminals and come out of it with minimal injuries, DJ was put back on active duty and was allowed to go out on missions with the team again, much to his joy.

While DJ was celebrating being allowed to go out on missions again, the escaped Aromatisse was currently situated in a tower, not far off from Miracle Town, but far enough that you would not see it if you were going to and from Miracle Town. Currently, she was being berated by a tall figure who's form was concealed by the shadows.

"I-I'm sorry Master!" she wailed. "Please have mercy!"

"Why should I?" the shadowy figure growls. "I gave you one job. Steal the key shard from the storage facility. But even with six others, you still managed to fail me."

"But it wasn't my fault!" she shrieks. "We were about to steal the shard, but a Riolu jumped in and stalled us! We had him beat, but another team arrived and they overwhelmed us!"

"You were _stalled_ by a mere Riolu?" the shadowy figure questioned in disbelief.

"It was stronger than most!" the Aromatisse said desperately. "He was able to use aura sphere!"

At this, the shadowy figure's eyes widened. "What was that?"

"He was able to use aura sphere."

"... Leave me."

Not needing to be told twice, the Aromatisse dashed out of the room, relieved that she would not be punished.

The shadowy figure turned to the window contemplating the information that he had just received. His face then broke out in a sadistic smile.

"Well, well, well," the figure said. "It looks like you've brought another into this world haven't you... Mew?"

**Cliff Overlooking Miracle Town**

A lone figure stood over the cliff, gazing at the town below with a pensive look.

"I'm almost there," the figure said. "Just hold on a little longer... DJ."


	25. Chapter 25

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 25: Back in Action**

The next day, Katara, DJ, and Leaf were currently walking down the streets of Miracle Town, heading for the Gallade's Guild to meet with a client.

"How does it feel to be allowed on missions again, DJ?" Katara asked.

"It feels awesome," DJ answered truthfully. "After being cooped up for so long it feels good to be allowed out."

"You weren't cooped up, quit exaggerating," Katara said in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "You walked around the town remember?"

"Oh yeah... Well, it's still been a while. So, what's the mission?"

"Do you ever pay attention during debriefing?"

"...Sometimes..."

"Ugh," Katara grumbled as she pulled out the mission sheet. "We're escorting a Roselia to a nearby village called Forest Ridge. And before you ask, no. We aren't going through a mystery dungeon."

"Awww."

"I fail to see how not going through a mystery dungeon is a bad thing," Leaf commented.

"Because I'm itching for a good fight," DJ said.

"Is that all you fighting types think about?" Katara asked.

"I don't know about other fighting types, but I haven't been in a fight in over two weeks and I need release."

"But you were in a fight yesterday my Alpha," Leaf pointed out.

"True, but it isn't the same," DJ said.

"How is it not the same?" Leaf asked curiously, truly not understanding what DJ was saying.

"It..it just isn't," DJ said stubbornly.

"Stop being so stubborn," Katara said. "You should be thankful that the guild master letting you out at all. If it was up to me, you would still be in bed."

"Then it's a good thing it's not up to you," DJ said cheekily.

Katara punched DJ in the arm and gave him a halfhearted glare. DJ laughed at this and continued to walk, ignoring Katara's glare. Katara then noticed that DJ was wearing his weights.

"Are you wearing your weights?" Katara asked.

"Huh?" DJ said. He then looked at his ankles and saw that he was indeed wearing his anklets. "Oh, yeah. So I am."

"Why?" Katara asked, her voice gaining a dangerous tone.

"Why what?" DJ asked, not noticing Katara's tone.

"Why are you wearing your weights?!"

"Well I haven't worn them in a while, so I need to get back into the habit of wearing them when I go out."

"But your still healing!" Katara shouted, startling DJ, Leaf, and several other people that were walking down the road opposite to them.

"How many times to I have to say it, I'm _fine_," DJ said.

At this statement Katara smacked him on the back causing him to grunt in pain. "See?" Katara asked. "You're still hurt!"

"For the love of Arceus!" DJ exclaimed. "I'm fine! Besides, were not going to a dungeon."

"But-"

"Katara, maybe we should trust Alpha" Leaf said before Katara could continue. Seeing Katara's incredulous look, he continued. "He did show that he is able to fight despite his injuries. Plus, if there is a problem, we will be able to help."

Katara opened her mouth to argue, but soon closed it finding no flaw in the Treeko's logic. After a couple minutes of trying to find some hole in Leaf's logic she relented

"Fine," Katara begrudgingly said.

"Thank you," DJ said, relieved that the subject was dropped.

"Also," Leaf continued. "We are here."

True to his words, the trio had walked all the way to the guild without even noticing. They made it to the bridge that led to the guild. Waiting on the bridge their client.

"What took you so long?!" the Roselia said with an irritated tone, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry about that," Katara said, attempting to calm the Roselia down. "We were having a discussion, but we're here now and we'll make sure you reach you're destination safely."

"You better," the Roselia grumbled, looking at the team that would be escorting her. When her eyes landed on DJ, she blushed and looked him over. "H-hello. What's your name?"

"I'm DJ," DJ said, not noticing the Roselia's blush. "These are my teammates Katara and Leaf and as Katara said, we'll be escorting you."

"Well aren't I the lucky one?" the Roselia said, still eyeing DJ, who seemed oblivious to this. "My name's Rose. I hope that you'll be able to protect me."

"Don't worry, we'll be able to protect you," DJ said.

"I feel much better knowing that I have a big strong Pokémon such as yourself protecting me," Rose said with a slightly seductive tone. "You have very pretty eyes,"

"Um, thanks?" DJ said, unsure of how to answer.

"Such a vibrant color," she continued. "I've never seen a Riolu with such eyes."

"Ahem," Katara faked coughed. "We should get going now, so we can make it back before dusk."

"Right," Rose said, seemingly depressed that her conversation was cut short. "Let us depart."

With that being said, the small group set off to Forest Ridge.

The small group had been traveling for about five hours without incident. Unlike with mystery dungeons, the wild Pokémon that inhabited the forests did not go out of their way to attack travelers. Even if threatened, most Pokémon here would flee instead of attacking. While this is not the case with all forests and other areas where wild Pokémon roam, the forest that surrounds Miracle Town were full of mostly docile Pokémon.

Throughout the whole trip Rose had been walking very close to DJ and asking random questions such as his favorite color, food, time of day, and other things like that. DJ, thinking that she was just worried about wild Pokémon, did not seem to mind her walking close to him and answered her questions, though he did feel awkward talking to here due to his shyness. Katara, on the other hand, seemed to mind a great deal.

She had been trying burn a hole in the back of the Roselia's head with her glare, though she did not fully seem to understand why she was mad at Roselia. She continued to glare at the Roselia as DJ told her about the time he slipped a tamato berry and an iapapa berry into Blitz's food.

"That's so funny!" Rose laughed loudly. "You're quite the prankster, aren't you?"

"I guess so," DJ said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Though I only pranked Blitz because he pranked me. He's the real prankster of the team."

"You're so modest," Rose said giving him a wink.

"Thanks I think," DJ said, not sure of how to respond, earning another laugh from Rose.

"You really are funny," Rose said. She then moved closer to him. "I like funny Pokémon."

"Okay?" he said, still oblivious.

"Could you two keep it down," Katara said angrily. "We're trying not alert the wild Pokémon."

"Sorry Katara," DJ apologized.

"Oh you worry to much," Rose said. "The wild Pokémon that live in this forest don't mess with travelers."

"If you knew this then why did you hire a team?" Katara questioned suspiciously.

Rose began to sweat at this question. "Uh... N-no reason. I just wanted to be sure."

"Is that so?" Katara said, her eyes narrowing.

"Y-yes! That is so! Now if you're done with twenty questions, let's keep going."

Rose turned to go, but Katara grabbed her arm and leveled a glare.

"DJ, Leaf. Can you two excuse us for a moment?" Katara asked.

"Are you sure Katara?" DJ asked.

"I'm sure," Katara said. "We're just going to have some girl talk."

"Okay," DJ said before gesturing for Leaf to follow. "We'll be a little ways ahead. Shout if you need anything."

"Okay," Katara said as she watched DJ and Leaf's forms retreating. When they were out of hearing range Katara turned back to Rose and leveled a glare. "What's your game?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said.

"Tauros shit!" Katara shouted. "You clearly aren't worried about wild Pokémon, so why did you hire a team?"

"As I said, I just wanted to be sure," Rose said, clearly nervous. "Why do you care anyway. You're being payed regardless, so why does it matter why I hired you guys?"

"Because I don't want my friends to get hurt because you lied about our mission!"

"You're worried about your friends?" Rose asked. "Or just your Riolu friend."

"W-what?!" Katara asked while taking a step back as if slapped. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't play dumb," Rose said slyly. "I saw how you looked at me when I was talking to him. You're jealous!"

"WHAT?!" Katara shouted. "No I'm not!"

"You clearly are!" Rose said. "That's why you're so against this mission. You don't like me getting close to him. So what is he to you? Are you two dating or something?"

"NO!" Katara exclaimed, blushing furiously. "We're just friends!"

"Clearly, Then I guess you won't mind me taking him," Rose said. Katara was about to speak again, but Rose cut her off. "I'm kidding. He's way to dense to even notice my advances. I knew I should have learned attract."

"W-what? Y-y-you. I-I'm not." Katara spluttered out, unable to form a coherent thought.

"Now if you're done with your petty jealously, I want to get home before dark." Rose said as she walked away from Katara, leaving her fuming.

_I don't like DJ like that. What does that overgrown weed know!_ Katara thought to herself as she continued to glare at the retreating form of Rose. _I'm going to keep my eye on her. I still don't trust her._

"So what were you two talking about?" DJ asked curiously, glancing at Katara and Rose. Though he is dense he could still feel Katara's emotions and he could tell that she was upset about something.

"Oh nothing," Katara lied. "Just girl stuff." Seeing DJ's look of disbelief she continued. "I'm fine DJ."

"If you say so. But if you want to talk..." DJ said uncertainly. Rose took this time to grab his arm.

"She said she's fine, so don't worry about her," Rose purred earning a heated glare from Katara. "Let's keep going."

DJ gave Katara one more concerned look before continuing to walk through the forest. The group continued through the forest for another thirty minutes without incident and DJ was growing slightly anxious. They soon came upon a sign that said, Forest Ridge, five miles.

"We're almost there," Rose said, with a slightly relieved tone, which the three members of Team Stardust picked up on.

"You sound relieved," Leaf said.

"Oh! I'm just glad to be home is all," Rose said nervously.

DJ, not believing her, used his emotion sense and felt that she was becoming increasingly nervous.

"Then why are you so nervous?" DJ questioned, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm not nervous," Rose lied.

"I would advise not to lie to DJ," Katara said. "He's a Riolu and they can feel the emotions of others. So lying to him is useless."

Rose's eyes shifted back and forth, trying to think of someway out of this situation. Unable to think of anything, she sighed.

"Fine I'll tell you," Rose relented. "I hired you guys because... IsortamaybeangeredawildPokémonthatlivesaroundhere." She said the last part really fast.

"What?" Katara asked.

"I said that I angered a tribal Pokémon around this area when I was going to Miracle Town," Rose said.

"What did you do?" Katara asked, partially curious of what she did and partially angry over being lied to.

Before Rose could speak, a loud roar was heard deeper in the forest. The group turned in the direction of the roar and saw several trees shaking as if something was crashing in to them.

"Oh, no," Rose mumbled.

There was one final roar before an Ursaring burst through the brush and stood before the group. It gave a sniff and turned its head towards Rose. Seeing Rose, the Ursaring growled and gave another ear-shattering roar.

"I take it that's the Pokémon you pissed off," Katara grumbled.

"What did you do to piss it off?" DJ asked.

"I may have, accidentally, eaten his food," Rose said, causing the three members of Team Stardust to shot stare at her. "What, I was hungry and I found a pile of berries and I sorta ate them."

"Why would you do that?!" Katara exclaimed.

"What?" Rose asked as if not understanding Katara's anger. "I was hungry and I didn't think that it would be a big deal. It's not my fault that that Ursaring holds a grudge."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Katara asked with a deadpan expression.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Let's talk about this later," DJ said, gaining the two bickering group members attention. "We have bigger Magikarp to fry."

"Alpha is right," Leaf said, not taking his eyes off the Ursaring. "We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to deal with this Ursaring."

"Can I do it?!" DJ asked childishly, practically bouncing on his feet. "Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

Everyone, even the Ursaring, sweat-dropped at DJ's childish antics.

"No you can't," Katara said sternly. "You're still recovering."

"But I'm fine," DJ whined. "Besides, if I get in trouble, you guys can bail me out."

Unable to poke a hole in DJ's logic, Katara sighed. "Fine, but you can't have your weights while you're fighting. And be careful"

"Yes _Mom_," DJ said jokingly as he removed his weights and dropped them to the ground. When the anklets hit the ground they cracked the ground under them, shocking Rose.

"How much do those things weigh?" Rose asked in disbelief.

DJ just shrugged as he turned to face the Ursaring. "Alright big guy, let's dance."

The Ursaring roared in response and charged DJ. DJ quickly jumped to the side to avoid the Ursaring's charge. He then jumped at him and hit it in the back with a force palm.

The Ursaring roared in pain and spun around and tried to hit DJ with a glowing arm. Seeing the attack DJ ducked low to the ground to avoid the hammer arm. He retaliated by kicking the Ursaring with a blaze kick. In response the Ursaring swiped at DJ with a slash attack.

Seeing the attack DJ countered with a shadow claw, though it did not hurt the Ursaring, it was able to block the slash attack and push the Ursaring back slightly and causing it to stumble. Taking advantage of the Ursaring's lapse of balance, DJ rushed forward and hit it with a force palm.

"Wow," Rose commented as she watched DJ dodge another swipe from the Ursaring. "He's really fast."

"Yeah he is," Katara said. "When he first started out a few months ago, DJ could barely hold his own in a fight."

"Seriously?" Rose asked in shock. "But he's able to go toe to toe with that Ursaring! How could he improve so much in in such a short amount of time?"

"He has a _very_ good teacher." Katara answered.

"Clearly," Rose said, turning her attention back to the fight.

_He really has gotten stronger,_ Katara thought as she remember when she first encountered DJ and how uneasy he was around people. _He has changed from the one I met all those months ago. He used to be shy and unsure of his abilities. He's still shy, but he has a lot more confidence when he fights._

Katara was broken from her thoughts when the Ursaring gave another loud roar of pain. DJ had just hit the Ursaring in the center of its ring with an aura sphere, causing it to fall on its back. Before it could get up DJ jumped up and delivered a burning ax kick (and ax kick with blaze kick) to its head. The Ursaring gave on more low growl before succumbing into unconsciousness.

"Phew! That was a good work out," DJ said while wiping his brow. He then turned to the others and smiled. "Well let's keep going."

The rest of the group nodded numbly at DJ and followed him down the path, taking care when walking past the unconsciousness Ursaring.

After another five miles the group reached their destination where they said goodbye to Rose, much to Katara's relief. Rose gave them their pay and, to DJ's shock, and Katara's fury, gave DJ a kiss on the cheek as "her way of saying thank you". Leaf remained stoic over the kiss, but deep down he was laughing at the expression on Katara's face.

As they made their way back to Miracle Town Katara refused to speak to DJ. DJ,thinking that he had done something to offend Katara, had tried to apologize to her. Eventually Katara said that he did not do anything to make her mad, which further confused DJ.

When the trio finally got back to the guild house they were greeted by the sight of all the member, and Tobias, standing outside, smiles on their faces.

"Why's everyone standing outside?" Katara asked as they approached.

"We're about to go celebrate," Blitz answered.

"Celebrate what?" DJ asked.

"We got promoted to gold rank!" Grace said.

"Really?!" Katara asked. "Awesome!"

"We were waiting for you guys to get back before we headed out," Jackson said. "We're planning on going to that new restaurant that opened up."

"Cool," DJ said. "I hope they have waffles."

"Seriously, what is it with you and waffles?" Katara asked.

"What?" DJ said. "Waffles are a gift from Arceus."

"Whatever you say DJ," Katara said. "Whatever you say."

"DJ?" a voice from behind the team said.

They all turned and were greeted with the sight of a Lucario. Unlike Alistair, this Lucario was clearly young considering that its fur was a lush blue color. It stepped forward and looked at DJ with wide eyes.

"Your name," the Lucario said, her voice clearly female. "It's DJ?"

"That's me," DJ said, eyeing the Lucario warily. "Why do you ask."

The Lucario brought her paws to her mouth in shock as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"It is you," she said. Before anyone could react, she had rushed forward and enveloped DJ in a hug, shocking everyone. "I missed you so much."

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" DJ asked.

"You don't remember me?" the Lucario asked, pushing DJ back a little, but keeping her paws on his shoulders. "It's me. Your sister."

"I think you have the wrong Riolu," DJ said as he gently pried her paws off his shoulders. "I can't be your brother because-"

"Because your a human," she finished, shocking everyone again. "I know. I'm your sister from the human world."

DJ's eyes widened at this statement. Suddenly memories of a laughing girl flashed through DJ's mind along with a name.

"Cecil?" DJ asked in shock. "Is that you?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 26: Truth**

"Are you really DJ's sister," Blitz asked in awe.

"Yes," Cecil said, looking fondly at her little brother. "I am."

All DJ could do was stare at the Lucario claiming to be his sister from the human world. As he continued to stare, memories of her in the human world began to surface. He saw her laughing with him, laughing _at_ him after she pranked him, shouting at him when he angered her, and even her hugging him.

"But how is that possible?" Tobias asked.

"I came here the same way DJ did," Cecil answered.

"And that means...?" Tobias asked.

Cecil turned to DJ and gave him a confused look. "You didn't tell them?"

DJ took a few seconds to find his voice before he answered. "To be honest I don't remember."

"You don't?" Cecil asked, her voice full of concern.

"He lost his memory when he came to our world," Katara said.

"WHAT?!" Cecil shouted, startling everyone. She instantly went to DJ's side and began to fervently checked him over, looking for any injuries. "Are you okay?! Does your head hurt?! How many fingers am I holding up?!"

"I'm fine," DJ said attempting to pry his sister's paws off his face. "I said I'm _fine _Sissy!" DJ frowned after he said that. "Where'd that come from?"

Cecil chuckled at the young Riolu's confusion. "That's what you used to call me when you were little because you couldn't say my name. Since then that was always the nickname you called me when you were either annoyed with me or wanted to embarrass me."

"Really?" DJ asked. "I don't remember that."

Cecil sighed. "So you really did lose your memory, huh? Mew said that there was a complication during the dimension transfer, but I didn't think that it effected your memory... Ah, well." she said as she placed a paw on DJ's shoulder. "We'll figure something out squirt."

"Hey!" DJ shouted in annoyance when he realized what Cecil had called him. "I'm not a squirt."

"Oh, really?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. She then preceded to place her entire arm on his head as if he was an armrest.

"Get off me!" DJ shouted indigently as he tried to push his sister's arm off him, but the more he struggled the more pressure she applied. "I'm not an armrest!"

"Shhhh," Cecil shushed. "Armrests shouldn't talk."

Losing his patience, DJ quickly crouched causing Cecil to lose her balance. Seeing her loss of balance, DJ surged forward and rammed into her midsection. The hit was not hard, but it did cause Cecil to stumble back. Cecil leveled a mock glare at DJ.

"You asked for it squirt," Cecil said.

Without another word she surged forward at DJ. He tried to jump to the side, but Cecil managed to grab his arm. She then began to spin around pulling DJ with her. She spun him around about five times before she stuck her foot out and tripped him as he was spun.

As soon as DJ hit the ground he almost instantly leapt to his feet and jumped at Cecil, tackling her legs. The sudden impact on her legs caused Cecil to lose her balance. She tried to steady herself, but DJ's weight on her legs caused her to fall backwards.

As soon as Cecil hit the ground DJ leapt on her and pulled her aura appendages. Cecil gave a cry of pain before grabbing DJ and throwing him off. DJ hit the ground and before he could recover, Cecil leapt at him and pulled him into a headlock. When DJ tried to break free she gave him a noogie.

"GACK!" DJ shouted as he struggled to break free of his sister's grasp. "Let go!"

"Say uncle!" Cecil said as she continued to 'torture' her brother, a smile gracing her lips. "Say it!"

"Never!" DJ shouted and continued to struggle in vain, though he had a smile on his face. He gave a final grunt and managed to break free of his sister's grip and tackled her to the ground.

As soon as they hit the ground Cecil twisted around and shoved DJ off. She then held DJ down with one paw and tickled him with the other, causing DJ to break into a fit of laughter.

"S-stop!" DJ said between bits of laughter. "I c-can't breathe!"

"Say it!" Cecil said as she kept up her 'attack'.

"Uncle! Uncle!" DJ gasped out.

Cecil let DJ up and pulled him into a hug, tears falling from her eyes.

"I missed you so much little brother," Cecil cried. "When I heard that something happened I feared the worst."

"I'm sorry," DJ said, tears leaking from his eyes as well. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't blame yourself," Cecil said sternly, tightening her grip reassuringly. "You didn't even have your memories. But that doesn't matter now, I won't let you out of my sight again."

"Ahem," Bertha coughed, gaining the siblings attention. "Sorry to break up this family moment, but what do you mean by dimensional transfer? And what does Mew have to do with all of this?"

"Oh, right," Cecil said sheepishly as she let go of DJ and wiped away her tears. "As an answer to your first question, that is how we came to your world. As to your second question, Mew was the one that brought us to this world."

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.

"It appears that we have much to discuss," Cecil said. "But, not out here. I've been traveling for a while and I would like to rest my feet."

"Ahhh," Cecil sighed in relief as he sat down on a couch in Team Stardust's guild house. "That feels _sooo_ much better."

The team and Tobias sat around her in the other chairs and couches, with DJ sitting next to her. They all looked at her expectantly, but after a couple seconds of waiting it was clear that they were not going to get any answers. Seeing this, Tobias gave a small cough, gaining the Lucario's attention.

"Yes?" Cecil asked.

"You were going to tell us about how and why you came here," Tobias said.

"Riiiight," Cecil said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, an action that they noticed that DJ did when he was embarrassed. "Well as I said, Mew was the one that brought us here with the use of the dimensional transfer."

"What exactly is the dimensional transfer?" Katara asked.

"As the name suggests it's basically a portal that allows one to travel from our world, the human world, to your world," Cecil explained. "Mew opened this portal to bring us to your world."

"But why did Mew bring you and Alpha to our world?" Leaf asked.

"Alpha?" Cecil asked, looking at DJ curiously.

"It's a long story," DJ sighed out.

"Anyway," Cecil continued, "Mew brought us to your world to save it."

At this, everyone was shocked. "What do you mean by _save_ this world?" Tobias questioned.

"I mean just what I said," Cecil said grimly. "Mew told me, when she (AN: Yes, I'm making Mew a girl in this.) sent me here that the world is in terrible danger. Mew had initially sent DJ here to stop the event, but something went wrong during the dimensional transfer, which caused him to lose his memory. At the time, Mew had no idea that DJ lost his memory, so when there came no reply from DJ, Mew grew worried. Fearing the worst, Mew contacted me and told me what had happened." A depressed look grew on Cecil's face. "I'm sorry to say that up until that moment, I had forgotten that I had a brother."

"What?" DJ asked, his voice sounding hurt. "Y-you forgot about me?"

"No, no, no! It's not like that!" Cecil said. "I didn't forget you on purpose! When Mew brought you to this world, she made everyone in our world forget you so that we wouldn't worry. When Mew brought me to this world she gave me my memories of you and I was furious, but I put aside that anger so that I could focus on finding you and stopping the impending doom that is threatening to destroy this world. I swear to you DJ, I didn't want to forget you."

"...I believe you," DJ said.

"Getting back on track," Tobias interrupted, "what is this 'terrible danger' that Mew was talking about."

"She said that a dark well is in danger of activating," Cecil said grimly.

At this Tobias visibly paled, something that everyone noticed.

"Are you sure?!" Tobias asked urgently. "Are you sure that's what she said?!"

"I'm sure, though I'm not sure what this dark well is," Cecil said.

"I'm not familiar with that term either," Drake said turning to Tobias. "But judging by your expression, guild master, you do."

"Unfortunately, I do know what the dark wells are, and if one of them is in danger of activating, then we are all in trouble," Tobias said.

"What exactly are the dark wells if I may ask?" Cecil asked.

"The dark wells are a creation of pure evil," Tobias said, lacing his finger together. "How and why they were created is unknown, but they are somehow able to take the darkness and hatred of the world and took that essence and turned it into a physical thing that once released would blanket our world in darkness, turning all Pokémon dark and evil. All it takes is one dark well to plunge the world into chaos. The dark wells were sealed off with the use of the well key. The only way for the dark wells to open is for the key to be used to open them, but doing that is impossible."

"Why is that?" Blade asked.

"Because the key was broken into six pieces and scattered throughout the country," Tobias said. "On top of that, the power that those shards possessed caused the areas that they were hidden in to turn into mystery dungeons."

"That means that someone is looking for those shards in order to activate the wells," Cecil reasoned.

"From what I gather, that is correct," Tobias said. "If that's the case then we need to get those shards before whoever is searching for them does. Currently, we are in possession of one of the shards, so we only have five to worry about."

"We have one of the shards?" Asura asked. "Where is it."

"It's in the storage facility, isn't it?" DJ asked. "That's why that group of Pokémon attacked it the other day."

"I speculated that that was the case, but I was not sure at the time," Tobias answered. "But yes. That is where we are currently housing the shard."

"But shouldn't we move it since they know where it is?" Grace asked.

"Unfortunately, the storage facility is the safest place for it," Tobias sighed. "Since the attack, I've had a team watching the storage facility at all times. It is the safest place for it."

"So we only need to find the five remaining shards," Cecil said. "Though there is the chance that whoever is after the shards has already found them."

"Even so, we need to check those dungeons," Tobias said. "I also want all of this to stay amongst us. If this got out, there will be mass panic and Pokémon will be hurt."

"Agreed," Asura said, earning nods from all those present.

"I will leave this to your team," Tobias said. "I have a map with the locations of those dungeons. I will get it for you and starting tomorrow, Team Stardust will be in charge of exploring those dungeons, and if the shards are there, you are to bring them here."

"But shouldn't we wait and plan this out more?" Jackson asked.

"Unfortunately, we do have a time limit," Cecil said. "Not only could there be someone already after the shards at this very moment, but also me and DJ only have a month."

"What do you mean by that?" Katara asked.

"You see, when Mew brought us here, she tore a rift in the dimensions to allow us passage," Cecil explained. "After that tear is made, it will stay open for about four months. The tear that brought DJ here already closed and the one that brought me here a three months ago will close in another month. So if DJ and I don't go through that tear, we will be stuck here."

"But can't Mew just open another tear?" Katara asked, hiding the fact that she was sad hearing that DJ only had a month to stay with them.

"I'm not sure if she can," Cecil said. "When she brought me here, she seemed strange. Almost like she was sick or something. She spoke to me via telepathy, but she sounded... off. She said whatever was wrong with her had something to do with the dark wells, but before she could say more our connection broke."

"Then time is off the essence," Tobias said. "Tomorrow Team Stardust will go out and retrieve the shards. Understood?"

"Understood!" Team Stardust said in unison.

"And I will help you guys the best I can," Cecil said, her voice full of conviction.

"Also," Tobias said, looking at Cecil. "Do you have the primal aura?"

"Primal what?" Cecil asked.

"The power that your brother and the one before him possess." Tobias answered.

"Mew did mention giving DJ some kind of extra power," Cecil said placing a paw on her chin in thought, "but, she thought that that power caused the complication with the dimensional transfer."

"I see," Tobias said standing up. "I will be back tomorrow with the map. Until then..."

Tobias gave a small wave goodbye and left the guild house. Everyone remained silent for a few minutes, slowly processing the information that they had just heard.

"But why me?" DJ asked suddenly, gaining his everyone's attention attention. "Why did Mew choose me. I'm not special, so why me?"

"But you are special," the older Lucario said with a smile. "You were always shy around new people and even around your friends sometimes, but despite that you always had such a strong sense of justice and a fierce sense of loyalty. You always hated it when those close to you were sad or hurt and you would always try to help them. You would also always stand up for your friends without any regard for your own safety. While that is extremely reckless. Mew saw that in you and believed that you could help this world."

"Really?" DJ asked. "W-was I really like that?"

"Yes you were and still are," Cecil said with a small smile.

"C-can you tell me what I was like as a human?" DJ asked.

Cecil smiled at her younger brother. "Of course I can," she said. She then preceded to tell DJ about his life as a human.

As she spoke, memories of his past began to resurface in his mind. The rest of the team smiled at parts and even laughed at the embarrassing parts, which caused DJ to blush and try to attack Cecil again, which led to another sibling scuffle. At the end of Cecil's tale, DJ had tears of happiness running down his face.

"Thank you sis," DJ said as he wiped away his tears. "Ever since I came to this world I've wanted to know who I was. I can't thank you enough for telling me."

"You don't have to thank me," Cecil said softly as she enveloped her brother in a hug. "I'm just glad I get to see you again."

"I'm glad that I got to see you again too," DJ said as he returned the hug. "Though I didn't know you existed until today." he added with a chuckle.

"Don't ruin the moment squirt!" Cecil said as she smacked DJ upside the head.

"Don't call me squirt!" DJ said as he hit Cecil back.

In response, Cecil hit him again, slightly harder, which caused DJ to do the same. In a matter of seconds the two were wrestling again, both having smiles on their faces as they fought.

The rest of Team Stardust could not help but laugh at the scene. They were all happy that DJ had finally learned about his past and met his sister, but they were all sad when they learned that there friend would be leaving soon, though they pushed those thoughts into the back of their minds. Tomorrow they would be searching for the key shards and they all needed to be at their best, so after DJ and Cecil stopped their fighting, they all turned in for the night, with Cecil taking one of the spare rooms, and prepared themselves for the following day.

**Author's Notes:**

Hey guys, AuraFighter here. Just wanted to not only thank you all for your support and reviews. I greatly appreciate them. I just wanted to inform you all that I will be focusing on Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust and won't be updating Resistance until I have finished Stardust, which should be fairly soon. Again, thank you all and please continue to review.


	27. Chapter 27

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 27: Quest for the Shards**

The following morning, Team Stardust and Cecil are sitting over the map of the shards that Tobias had dropped off earlier in the lounge, discussing who will go to what dungeon.

"So then it's decided," Asura said after much discussion. "Blitz, Katara, and Leaf will go to Seaside Shore. That place is full of water types so you three are the best option. Drake and Grace will go to Mount Fang, which is mostly inhabited by dragon types. Jackson, you and Bertha will head to Oblivion Cavern. That area is full of ghost, psychic, and a few steel types, so it shouldn't pose much of a challenge. DJ and Cecil, you will go to Relic Canyon."

"Great. Another canyon," DJ said under his breath. Unfortunately, a certain Lucario heard him.

"What wrong with canyons?" Cecil asked, causing DJ to sweat profusely.

"Well... I sorta...fell..off a canyon a few weeks ago," DJ said sheepishly.

Cecil stared at him with a blank face for a few tense seconds before she blinked once. Twice. Three times. Then... "WHAT!" she shouted, grabbing DJ's shoulders and shaking him. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FELL OFF?!"

"Just what I said," DJ responded, his words shaky do to his sister shaking him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"It never came up."

"*Ahem*" Asura coughed, gaining Cecil's attention. "If we can get back to the problem at hand."

Reluctantly, Cecil let go of DJ, who slumped in his seat with swirls in his eyes, and decided to have a "talk" with her brother when they were traveling.

"Thank you. Now as I was saying," Asura continued, "you two will be going to Relic Canyon. With its influx of rock and steel types, you two are most suited for this dungeon. Finally, Blade and I will go to Dark Cave. Our prime directive is to explore the dungeon and retrieve the key shard should it be there. I want you all to keep on your guard. There is a possibility that whoever is after the shards will send someone after them, so be careful. Also, make sure you all pack for at least a few days. Some of the dungeons are very far away. Understood?"

"Understood!" everyone shouted.

"Good," Asura said. "Happy hunting."

**With Blitz, Katara, and Leaf**

"Is this the place?" Katara asked as the trio came upon a cave that was situated on a beach.

"It appears so," Leaf said.

"Well let's get going already!" Blitz said impatiently, electricity sparking from his cheeks. "We've been traveling for two days and I want to fight!"

"Hold on Blitz," Katara said. "Be careful where shoot your lightning. My guess is that the floors in the dungeon are covered in water, so you could end up electrocuting us if you're not careful. And, as a water type, I would prefer not to be electrocuted today."

"Don't worry I'll be careful," Blitz relented. "Now let's go!"

"And I though DJ was impatient," Katara mumbled to Leaf as they followed her hyperactive teammate into the cave.

**With Drake and Grace**

"This is the place," Grace said.

"..." Drake remained silent.

"Care to add anything?" Grace asked.

"..."

"We've been walking for three days, and you have nothing to say?"

"...Be careful," was all Drake said before entering the dungeon.

Grace sighed in response and followed her silent teammate into the dungeon.

**With Jackson and Bertha**

"Arceus dammit!" Bertha shouted as she felled another Beldum. Ever since the duo had entered the dungeon, they had been assaulted by wave after wave of Pokémon. "We're only on the third floor and we've already taken out twenty Pokémon!"

"I know," Jackson said as he fired a shadow ball at a Haunter that was circling them. "At least this dungeon only has eight floors. Though each floor is extremely large..."

"Don't remind me," Bertha groaned as she chucked her bone at a Metang that was getting too close for comfort. The bone hit the Metang with a satisfying clang before flying back to Bertha. "Any idea of where to head next?"

"No idea," Jackson said as he fired a dark pulse at the Metang that Bertha hit, effectively knocking it out. "Let's just go down another random path."

"But we've been doing that for the past three hours," Bertha whined as she followed Jackson down another pathway.

**With DJ and Cecil**

"So let me get this straight," Cecil said as she knocked out a Lairon with a force palm, her voice deadly calm. As the two siblings made there way through Concrete Canyon. It had taken them about four days and a boat ride to get to the dungeon and in that time, DJ had told Cecil about everything that he had done since he came to this world. "You fought several outlaws at once, while you were still injured from falling from a canyon _and_ fighting off _another_ outlaw."

"Yes?" DJ said/asked as he fired an aura sphere at the last remaining Pokémon in the room, wishing that he had left that part out.

"I see," Cecil said. Before DJ could react he was grabbed by the shoulder and shaken repeatedly. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Well _excuse_ me for wanting to help out someone who couldn't help themselves!" DJ countered.

Cecil sighed and released her brother and gave him a tired glare. "Why do you insist on making my life difficult?"

"Well if I didn't, who would keep you on your toes?" DJ asked cheekily.

In response, Cecil smacked him over the head. "Don't be cheeky," she said, giving her a light glare.

"I'm not cheeky. I'm DJ.".

"Why do I deal with you?"

"Because you love me!" Cecil sighed before she grabbed her brother and put him in a headlock. DJ tried to free himself, but Cecil then gave him a noogie. "OW!" DJ cried out. "That hurts!"

"Well you know what they say, love hurts," Cecil said cheekily.

DJ responded by poking his sister in the side, causing her body to arch when he hit the pressure point. DJ kept poking that same spot until Cecil finally let go of him.

"HA!" he triumphantly exclaimed when he finally got free. "You're still ticklish there!"

"You do realize this means war, right?" Cecil asked with a devious smile.

"...Crap," DJ said as he turned and ran further into dungeon in an attempt to escape the evil that was his sister.

"Don't run DJ!" Cecil shouted as she chased after her brother. "Running will only make it worse!"

**With Asura and Blade**

"This is it," Asura said as the two stood in front of a cave mouth.

"Why did you have to assign us to the dungeon that was the furthest from Miracle Town?" Blade asked in an annoyed tone.

"Like I've told you again and again, because we are the best suited for this dungeon," Asura said, steadily losing his patience. "This cave is full of dark and rock types. While I handle the rock types, you are to take care of the dark types."

"But why couldn't DJ and his sister go?" Blade questioned. "Both of them could handle dark and rock types, plus, as fighting types, they could make the trip no problem without getting tired."

"Then who would go to Relic Canyon?" Asura countered. "You wouldn't be able to handle the rock and steel types, so I would be the only one fighting."

Blade opened his mouth to argue, but closed it when he couldn't come up with a valid argument.

"Besides," Asura continued, "we're already here so let's get this over with." Asura moved to enter the cave, but stopped when he saw that Blade was not following him. When he turned he saw that Blade was staring at the cave mouth. "What is it now?"

"The cave mouth," Blade said, his eyes narrowed. "The sides are uneven."

"Oh for the love of...!" Asura exclaimed before grabbing Blade's arm and dragging him into the dungeon.

**With Blitz, Katara, and Leaf**

"I said that I was sorry," Blitz said as he cowered before a livid.

"Sorry won't cut it!" Katara shouted. "I told you to be careful at where you fire your thunderbolts, and what do you do? You hit the ground, electrocuting me and Leaf and forcing us to use a reviver seed to revive me when said lighting bolt knocked me out!"

"While I am angry at him as well, we should focus on the task at hand," Leaf interjected.

"R-right!" Blitz said, thankful for the change in subject.

"Fine," Katara grumbled reluctantly.

"Good. I believe that that is the final room of this dungeon," Leaf said, pointing to an entrance at the opposite side of the room that appeared to lead into another room.

"That must be where the key shard is!" Blitz shouted. "Let's go!"

The trio rushed to the exit and entered the room. When they entered the room, they were all shocked at the layout of the room.

Unlike the rest of the dungeon, the entire room appeared to be made of white marble or some other white stone that seemed to glow even without any natural light. There were six pillars in the room, three on each side of the room, and an empty pedestal in the center of the room.

"Wow. This place is cool," Blitz said as he looked around. "But where is the shard."

"If I had to guess, it would appear that someone else got to the key shard first," Leaf said, indicating to the empty pedestal.

"So someone really is after the shards," Katara said. "We need to get back to Miracle Town and tel everyone."

**With Drake and Grace**

"It looks like someone got to the shard first," Grace said as she and Drake stared at the empty pedestal.

"It would appear so," Drake said.

"Ugh, so we went through an entire dungeon, an entire thirteen floors, full of dragon types, several of which could use fire attacks, for nothing?" Grace asked

"Yep," was Drake's response.

"...Great," Grace said. "Let's head back and report this."

**With Jackson and Bertha**

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Bertha shouted when she saw the empty pedestal. "WE WENT THROUGH ALL THAT, AND THE SHARD'S ALREADY GONE?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Calm down Bertha," Jackson said trying to calm down the enraged Marowack.

"CALM DOWN?!" Bertha asked incredulously. "YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?! FUCK THAT! WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THAT FOR NOTHING! I'M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN!"

"Bertha, we knew there was a chance that the shard wouldn't be here. That just means that we need to report this to the others asap."

"Fine," Bertha seethed. "But we're going back through the dungeon so I can let out some steam!"

**With DJ and Cecil**

"Leave me alone!" DJ shouted as he continued to run from his sister. She had chased him through the entire dungeon, completely bypassing all of the wild Pokémon that lived in the dungeon.

"Not a chance!" Cecil shouted as she finally caught her brother and preceded to give him a noogie.

"GAHH! Stop!" DJ shouted as he tried to free himself. That's when he noticed that they had made it through the dungeon and to the canyon's edge. "Wait! Seriously, stop! We're here!"

At this, Cecil looked around and saw that her brother was right. Deciding to postpone her brother's torture, Cecil let him go and looked around the cliff face. "I don't see the shard anywhere though," Cecil said.

"Hold on. Let me check something," DJ said as he closed his eyes and activated his aura sight. After a quick check of the surrounding area, DJ walked over to the opening where they had exited, but instead of going to that opening he went to the wall next to it. He then pressed his paw against a rock that was jutting out. There was a clicking noise before a section of the wall opened revealing a staircase that lead down into the canyon. "Looks like we go down."

"That's a nice trick you got there little bro," Cecil said appreciatively, moving to the newly opened entrance.

"It was one of the things that Gramps taught me," DJ said as he lead the way down the stairs. "If it wasn't for him I don't know where I'd be now."

"It sounds like he means a lot to you," Cecil noted.

"He is," DJ agreed. "They all are important to me. If it wasn't for Team Stardust and the guild master, I would probably be dead by now. They've done so much for me and I don't know how to repay them."

"I think saving their world is a good start," Cecil said, causing DJ to laugh.

"Yeah I suppose... Holy Arceus," DJ said as they came upon a white room with six pillars and a pedestal. On that pedestal was a shard made of what looked to be some kind of purple crystal. The two siblings made their way to the crystal and looked at it closely. Upon further inspection some kind of symbol was on the shard, though it looked incomplete. "I'm guessing this is a key shard."

"It appears to be so," Cecil said looking at the crystal.

"Well, let's take it and get out of here," DJ said as he grabbed the shard, but before they could make their way out of the room a voice rang out.

"Well, well, well," the voice said. The two turned around and saw that the speaker was the Aromatisse that had attacked Cana's storage facility. "It appears that the little pup has a friend," she cackled. "And look at that! You've got the key shard that I'm after. I would greatly appreciate it if you handed it over."

"DJ, who is this?" Cecil questioned.

"She's the Aromatisse that attacked the storage facility," DJ growled.

"Oh, so she's the one that hurt you," Cecil said with a deadly edge to her voice which the Aromatisse did not seem to notice.

"That's right! I was the one that hurt him!" the Aromatisse bragged. "If it wasn't for that ridiculous team, he would be dead!"

DJ growled again and made to charge the Aromatisse, but Cecil put her paw on his shoulder. "Leave her to me," Cecil said as she glared at the Aromatisse.

"But sis..."

"Trust me," Cecil said, cutting DJ off. "I've got this."

"So you're going to fight me on your own? Then bring it on!" the Aromatisse said cockily.

"You're going to pay for hurting my baby brother!" Cecil shouted, causing DJ to blush.

"CECIL!" DJ shouted, blushing furiously.

Cecil only chuckled at DJ expense before dashing towards the Aromatisse with incredible speeds, surprising the Aromatisse. Before she could react, Cecil had summoned a glowing bone and preceded to slam it against the Aromatisse repeatedly.

The Aromatisse cried out in pain before unleashing a fairy wind attack to push Cecil away. However, since Cecil was part steel, the attack did not do as much as it would have against DJ, but it did push her back, allowing the Aromatisse to recover a little.

Not wasting a moment, Cecil leapt at the Aromatisse again, the spike on her paws transforming into glowing steel claws, and slashed at the Aromatisse. The aroma Pokémon screeched in pain when the metal claws slashed across her skin, but remained standing and shot a moonlight blast attack at Cecil.

Seeing the attack, the Lucario jumped back and fired an aura sphere at the pink sphere, causing both attacks to collide and explode, blanketing the area in smoke.

Thinking quickly, DJ activated his aura sight in an attempt to aid his sister. He searched the area for the rogue Aromatisse and found her to the left of Cecil preparing an attack. "CECIL!" DJ shouted gaining her attention. "On your left!"

Cecil turned just in time to avoid a thunderbolt attack from the Aromatisse. In response, Cecil fired an aura sphere towards where the thunderbolt had come from and managed to hit the Aromatisse. The explosion from the aura sphere cause the majority of the smoke to dissipate, revealing an injured and furious Aromatisse.

"That's not fair!" the Aromatisse complained. "You're helping her!"

"So?" DJ questioned. "You had Pokémon helping you when you fought me! That's the only reason you beat me!"

"I don't need help to take down a little squirt like you!" the Aromatisse seethed. She was about to say more, but Cecil suddenly appeared in front of her, shocking both her and DJ.

"No one calls my brother a squirt but me!" Cecil said angrily before she clawed at the Aromatisse with dual metal claws, eliciting pained screeches from the Aromatisse.

When the Aromatisse tried to back away Cecil appeared behind her with the same speed she had previously demonstrated and slammed a glowing bone on the Aromatisse's head, knocking out the fragrance Pokémon.

"Well," DJ said moving next to his sister. "That was rather anticlimactic."

"She was pretty weak," Cecil agreed. "Is there someone we call to pick her up?"

"Yeah I'll call Officer Magnezone to send someone," DJ said, pulling out his badge. "You know I'm going to get you back for embarrassing me in front of the enemy right?"

"I know," Cecil said with a smirk.

**With Asura and Blade**

"This looks like the end of the dungeon," Blade said as the duo entered a large room. "But it doesn't look like the shard is here.

"Look over there," Asura said as he pointed to a large staircase leading down into the cave that was across the room the two currently resided in. "That must be where the shard is. Let's go."

"You two aren't going anywhere!" came a voice from above.

Just as the duo looked up they were forced to leap back as a purple blur descended on them. The purple figure stood, revealing itself to be a Gliscor. The Gliscor eyed the two with its yellow eyes, a large grin stretching across its face.

"I'm afraid this is as far as you go," the Gliscor said bringing up his arms and clicking his pincers.

Asura growled and was prepared to charge the Gliscor when Blade put a blade arm in front of him, keeping him from moving forward. "Leave this guy to me," he said. When Asura was about to protest Blade cut him off. "Are main objective is to secure the shard. I'll stall this guy and you get the shard. When you get it the shard then you can come and help me."

Asura reluctantly nodded, not able to find a viable argument, and ran towards the stairs.

"Oh no you don't!" the Gliscor said as he flew towards Asura only to be intercepted by Blade.

"You're fight is me," Blade said, bringing up his scythes.

The Gliscor growled before flying at Blade with the intent to tear the Scyther in half.

**With Asura**

Asura entered a large white room with six pillars and a pedestal, but there was something in the room that caught his attention. Or rather someone. Standing in the center of the room in front of the pedestal was a Floatzel. In its hand was a purple crystal which Asura assumed was the key shard.

"Who are you?" Asura asked/demanded.

Hearing the voice, the Floatzel turned around and saw who had asked the question. Seeing Asura, the Floatzel's mouth stretched into a large sinister grin. When the sea weasel Pokémon did not answer the question, Asura grew impatient.

"Well?" Asura asked again. "Who are you and what do you want with the shard?"

"You mean this shard?" the Floatzel asked mockingly, revealing that he was male. "_I _don't want this shard. My master, however, has a great interest in these shards as well as the dark wells. As to your first question..." the Floatzel's grin grew even wider as he lifted his arms in a grand manner. "Don't tell me you forgot about me after all these years."

"W-what are you talking about?" Asura asked in confusion.

"You really did forget me," the Floatzel said, dropping his arms to his sides. "Tell you what. I'll give you a hint. We used to be best friends, we were on the same team, you left me for dead, and my name rhymes with bet!"

Asura's eyes widened at the last statement. There was only one Pokémon that he knew that matched that description. "J-Jet?" Asura asked. "I-is that you?"

"Ding, ding! We have a winner!" Jet said as he clapped his hands mockingly.

Asura felt like the earth had been pulled out from under him as he stared at his old friend. A friend that he thought had died years ago. "But h-how...?" Asura asked.

"How did I survive?" Jet finished. "Well let me tell you. There I was, buried under about a ton of rocks, thinking that my friends would come and save me..."

"We tried to save you!" Asura interjected. "We tried to save you, but we-"

"Left me behind," Jet interrupted, his former grin leaving his face. "I thought that you of all people would try and save me, but no. You left me to die! The only reason I'm alive today is because of a minion of my boss, Scourge."

"Scourge?!" Asura exclaimed in shock. "You mean the Malamar that is accused of robbing several banks, kidnapping several young Pokémon, and killing several officers of the law?! Are you crazy?!"

"No, I've never been more sane in my life," Jet replied. "He opened my eyes and showed me the truth about you."

"What are you talking about?"

"He showed me how you never cared about me. You and the rest of the team only used me to make your team strong and threw me aside when my usefulness ran out."

"That's not true!" Asura shouted desperately. "I did care for you! You were my best friend! Scourge is deceiving you!"

"Enough of your lies!" Jet spat out with such disdain that it caused Asura to flinch. "I will not be manipulated by the likes of you! Scourge saved my life, which is something that you didn't do."

"Jet..."

"Enough talk," Jet said taking a fighting stance. "If you plan to stand in the way of me completing my mission I _will_ end you."

Asura reluctantly took up a fighting stance. "I can't let you leave with that key shard, Jet." Asura said, his voice full of pain. "Don't you know what will happen if the dark wells are activated?!"

"I don't care," was Jet's response.

Before Asura could say anything else Jet shot a torrent of water from his mouth at him, forcing him to jump to the side. As soon as Asura landed, Jet was launched at him with aqua jet and slammed into the young Meditite.

Asura hit the ground with a thud, but quickly got to his feet in time to dodge an ice punch sent his way by Jet. Jet then unleashed a flurry of ice punches at Asura, keeping Asura from attacking. As Asura continued to weave around the punches he was reluctant to attack his old friend. Despite this, he knew that he had to keep Jet from delivering the key shard to his master. Seeing an opening, Asura threw a thunder punch at Jet's stomach, causing him to give a cry of pain when electricity began to course through him.

"I forgot how annoying that move is," Jet mumbled as he nursed his injured stomach.

"Don't do this Jet," Asura pleaded. "I don't want to fight you!"

"But I want to fight you," Jet said before lunging at Asura and punching him in the face with an ice punch.

Asura was sent spiraling back and before he could recover, Jet had shot another hydro pump at Asura, slamming him into the wall. Asura gasped when he felt the air leave his lungs when he hit the wall, but got to his feet all the same. He then fired a barrage of green orbs at Jet, who unleashed another hydro pump to counter the hidden power.

The two attacks slammed into each other and exploded, temporarily blocking Asura's view of Jet. That momentary lapse of vision was all Jet needed to get the upper hand. He used aqua jet and shot through the smoke and slammed into Asura, who was caught completely off guard. Asura was again slammed into the wall, causing cracks to form all over the wall and before he could get up he was hit again and again by a barrage of ice punches.

Ice began to form on Asura where the punches connected and after a few seconds of relentless punches, Asura's lower body was completely covered in ice. Jet finally stopped his assault and stood back to admire his work. Asura gave a cough, causing a little blood to come from his mouth as he weakly raised his head to look at Jet, who was sneering.

"Pathetic," Jet sneered as he turned and began to walk away. "You're not even worth killing."

"Jet, please," Asura pleaded weakly, fighting to remain conscious. "Don't do this."

"I'm done listening to you," Jet said as he exited the room.

Tears formed in Asura's eyes before he slumped forward, still encased in ice. "Jet...why?" he mumbled before losing consciousness, tears falling down his face.

**Team Stardust's Guild House, Two Weeks After Departure**

"So me and DJ were the only ones who actually got a shard?" Cecil questioned from her position on the couch.

"Not necessarily," Grace said. "Asura and Blade haven't returned yet. They might have had better luck than us."

"Well even if they come back empty handed, we'll still have two shards including the one Auntie Cana has," Katara commented.

"Speaking of shards, where's the one that you two got?" Jackson asked Cecil.

"DJ's got it in a pouch that he has bought when we got back," Cecil answered. "He wears it around his neck for safe keeping."

"Speaking of DJ, where is he?" Katara asked.

Before Cecil could answer, DJ leapt up form behind the couch his sister was laying on and screeched in her ear.

"RAHHH!" DJ shouted, scaring the living daylights out of the Lucario.

"AHHHH!" Cecil shouted in fear and shock as she whirled around to see her brother rolling on the floor laughing. "WHAT THE HELL DJ?!"

"I told you I'd get you back for embarrassing me!" DJ said as he continued to laugh.

"Why you little..." Cecil grumbled before leaping over the couch and attacking her brother, causing everyone to sweat-drop as the two began to fight.

"Jeez," Blitz mumbled. "They fight more than me and Bertha."

"But when they fight it's because their siblings," Leaf reasoned.

"Do you and Blade fight Drake?" Grace asked the stoic Gabite.

"Yes, we do, but not to that extent," Drake answered.

There was then the sound of the door in the foyer opening then closing.

"That must be Asura and Blade!" Grace said, causing DJ and Cecil to stop fighting and look towards the entrance to the lounge.

True to Grace's words, Asura and Blade entered shortly, both with grim expressions on their faces.

"I take it from your faces that you didn't get the shard," Blitz said half jokingly.

When Asura and Blade did not respond everyone became worried. "Asura?" Grace asked tentatively. "What's wrong."

"Jet..." Asura said.

"What about Jet?" Jackson asked.

"...He's alive," Asura said, shocking everyone except Blade and Cecil.

"H-how?!" Drake stuttered uncharacteristically.

"But we saw him get buried!" Grace exclaimed.

"Who's Jet?" Cecil whispered to her younger brother.

"He was a member of the team a few years back and Asura's best friend," DJ said. "But he supposedly died on a mission."

"Are you sure it was him?!" Jackson questioned, receiving a grim nod form Asura.

"But that's good news right?" Katara asked.

"He's working with the one who wants to open the dark wells," Asura said, further shocking everyone.

"WHAT?!" Grace shouted. "WHY?!"

"He thinks that we betrayed him," Asura mumbled, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "He believes that we left him there to die. He took the shard and knocked me out before escaping with the shard."

Everyone was shocked at this statement. No one wanted to believe that one of their own had turned on the, especially the ones that personally knew Jet, but with the information presented before them...

"It's hard to believe that Jet would do something like that," Blitz said.

"He wouldn't do that!" Asura shouted, the intensity of his voice shocking everyone. "He's being manipulated by the Malamar Scourge!"

"Are you sure?" Leaf questioned.

"Yes I'm sure!" Asura said, rounding on Leaf. "He was my best friend and I know he would never do something like this willingly."

"How can you be sure?" Leaf persisted. "You have not seen him for years. You do not know how he is now."

"What was that?" Asura said as he took a menacing step towards the Treecko, his voice gaining a dangerous edge.

"Asura, enough," Jackson said. "Don't take what he says to heart. He's just looking at things analytically. Look at it from his point of view. He's never met Jet, so he doesn't know how Jet used to act. That coupled with the fact that we don't have all the facts about what happened that day would make anyone skeptic.

Asura wanted to argue, but before he could there was a loud explosion that seemed to come from Miracle Town. Team Stardust, and Cecil, rushed outside and saw a billowing smokestack coming from the town.

"That looks like it's coming from Kangaskhan Storage!" Katara exclaimed.

"Not again," DJ mumbled under his breath, his expression turning grim.

"Let's go!" Asura shouted as he lead his team towards Kangaskhan Storage.

**Author's Notes:**

Hey guys, AuraFighter here. Just wanted to let you all know that the reason that I posted this chapter so soon is because for the next few weeks I will be very busy with school work. I'm not entirely sure that I'll be able to post a chapter once a week like I usually do, so I wanted to post this so that I will be able to finish this story on time. Thank you for all of your support and feel free to leave a review.


	28. Chapter 28

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 28: The Only Option**

Team Stardust ran as fast as they could to Kangaskhan Storage. When they arrived they were greeted with the sight of several outlaws attacking the storage facility, which was partially destroyed. Cana and Team Sunflare were attempting to defend the facility, but they were slowly becoming overwhelmed.

"Team Stardust, defend the key shard!" Asura shouted. With a shout of confirmation, they all ran to help the other team.

"GAHH!" Collin shouted as he was hit by an aqua tail sent his way by a rogue Croconaw. Seeing Collin hit the ground, the Croconaw advanced intending to end the young Combusken, but before it could however, an aura sphere slammed into it, sending it flying. Collin looked up and saw Team Stardust running towards them. "Well look who's tardy to the party."

"Never say that again," John said.

"Screw you John!"

"Now is not the time for that!" Michaela shouted as she shout an ice beam at a Staravia that was trying to sneak up on Jessie, forcing the bird Pokémon to swerve in mid-dive to avoid the attack

"Thanks Michaela!" Jessie shouted in appreciation as he hit a Gogoat with a poison jab.

"Thank goodness," Cana said as she dodged an iron tail from a Steelix that was. However, because she dodged, the Steelix's attack hit her storage facility, causing more of the building to collapse. A shriek came from inside the the building, causing Cana to pale. "MAI!" she shouted as she tried to run towards her collapsing building, only to be blocked by the Steelix, a sadistic smile adorning its face.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Steelix said.

"Get out of my way!" Cana growled out angrily angrily!"

"Give us the shard and I will," the Steelix replied.

Before Cana could respond, the Steelix was hit in the face by a water pulse and a energy ball, causing the Steelix to howl in pain before slumping to the ground. Cana turned and saw Katara and Leaf standing beside her.

"You go ahead and get Mai. We'll handle this guy," Katara said confidently.

"Thank you," Cana said before running into the storage facility in search of her daughter.

Without another word, the rest of Team Stardust joined leapt into action. While Katara and Leaf fought the Steelix, Grace and Drake ran to assist Michaela who was currently fighting against the Staravia that had tried to attack Jessie, a Gurdurr, and a Carracosta, Asura assisted Collin and John in fighting a full grown Tyranitar, and Blitz and Bertha teamed up with Max and Tyler who were fighting a Heatmor, a Skuntank, an Octillery, and a Hawlucha. Meanwhile, Blade ran to help Jessie and Kent with the Croconaw that DJ hit earlier, a Heliolisk, and a Roserade while DJ and Cecil were fighting the horde of Geodude that were swarming the area.

The two teams fought hard and slowly, but surely, they were slowly gaining the upper hand. Michaela had managed to freeze the Staravia in a block of ice, taking it out of the battle. The Croconaw was knocked out by Jessie, who was currently helping Blade defeat the Roserade. Asura, John, and Collin knocked out the Tyranitar and were helping Katara and Leaf finish off the Steelix.

"We're wining!" Blitz shouted happily as he knocked out the Octillery with a thunderbolt.

"Don't get cocky!" Jessie shouted as he dodged a flurry of pink petals sent towards him by the Roserade.

"I'm not cocky," Blitz whined.

"Yes you are," Bertha said, much to Blitz's ire.

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Ladies, your both pretty," Tyler interjected.

"HEY!" Blitz and Bertha shouted in unison.

"Guys, now is really not the time for this!" Kent said as he jumped over the Steelix's tail.

"And people say we fight a lot," DJ murmured to his sister.

"I know right?" Cecil said as she knocked out another Geodude.

Suddenly, a Geodude broke away from the main group and into the crumbling storage facility. A few moments later, The Geodude dashed out with something purple in its hands and attempted to flee the area.

"Stop that Geodude!" Cana shouted as she emerged from the building, Mai in her arms. "He's got the key shard!"

"I got it!" DJ shouted as he chased after the fleeing Geodude.

"DJ, wait!" Cecil yelled after her brother, but before she could run after him, the remaining Geodude formed a wall in front of her, keeping her from following DJ.

"Get back here!" DJ shouted as he chased the Geodude through the streets of Miracle Town. The Geodude, however made no inclination of stopping. DJ continued to chase the Geodude down an empty road before losing his patience. "The hell with this!" DJ shouted as he fired an aura sphere at the Geodude, hitting it dead on. The force of the attack caused the Geodude to lose its grip on the shard, sending it flying down an alleyway... stopping in front of a Pokémon that stood in the shadows.

"Well, well, well. This must be my lucky day," the Pokémon said, picking up the key shard. "Now I just need one more."

"Excuse me sir," DJ said as he came around the corner, gaining the Pokémon's attention. "I'm going to need that crystal back."

"Sorry, but I can't give it back. I need it to complete my collection," the Pokémon said, putting DJ on guard.

"Your collection?" DJ asked warily. DJ could practically feel the smile form on the Pokémon's face when DJ asked this. He did not like the feeling that he was getting from this Pokémon. It felt... sinister to him.

"Yes, my collection," the Pokémon said. "You see, I've had several of my... associates scour the country for these shards and I'm only one short. I would have all of them, but one of my associates is incompetent and failed to retrieve the shard."

DJ stiffened at this remark. _So this guy's the one that sent the Aromatisse to retrieve the shard. That means he's the one trying to activate the dark wells!_

"Come to think of it," the Pokémon said, pulling DJ from his thoughts, "Before I... disposed of my associate, she told me that she was stopped by a Lucario and a Riolu with blue eyes, the same kind of eyes that you posses." DJ was instantly got into a fighting stance. "Judging from your reaction, I assume that _you _are the Riolu that she spoke of."

"And what if I am?" DJ said preparing himself for a fight.

"Well, I would like to know where you put the final shard," the Pokémon said calmly as if he were having a conversation with an old friend. "Could it be what you are carrying in that pouch around your neck."

"You'll never know!" DJ shouted as he fired an aura sphere at the figure. To his shock, his aura sphere was countered by another, darker, aura sphere.

"So _you_ are the one that Mew sent," the Pokémon said, his voice full of mirth as if he had heard a funny joke. "Looks like I'm not the only human here anymore"

"W-What do you mean by that?!" DJ asked taking a step back. "Who are you?!"

"Me?" the Pokémon asked mockingly. "Well I suppose it's only fair that I tell you my name." he chuckled before stepping into the light, revealing himself to be a Lucario. However, unlike most Lucario, this one's fur was an indigo color instead of a normal shade of blue. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Luke and I was the human Mew sent before you."

"That's the last of them," Cecil said as she knocked out the final Geodude.

"Someone call Officer Magnezone to pick up these guys," Collin said as he stretched his arm.

"Is everyone okay?!"

Everyone turned and saw Tobias and Alistair running over to them, their face full of concern.

"Were okay father," Asura said. "A Geodude _did_ get away with the shard though."

"But DJ did chase after it," Cecil said, though there was concern in her voice, something Alistair picked up on.

"You must be DJ's sister, Cecil," Alistair said earning a nod from Cecil. "I'm positive that's he's ok-" Alistair stopped when his aura sensors stood levitated up. He looked towards Miracle Town, his eyes wide in surprise and fear. "It can't be..."

"What do you mean?" Tobias asked curiously. Alistair turned to him, seeming to age several years.

"He's back," was all he said before running towards Miracle Town.

"Who's back?!" Tobias called after him.

Alistair ignored Tobias and kept running, leaving everyone shocked and confused.

"ARGH!" DJ cried out as he was sent flying.

"Come now," Luke said arrogantly as he approached the downed Riolu. "That can't be the best you've got."

DJ growled in response and ran at Luke and attempted to strike him with a blaze kick. Luke merely scoffed and sidestepped the attack. Before DJ could regain his balance, the Lucario kneed him in the gut.

DJ gasped out as the air was forcibly removed from his lungs. Before he could regain his breath, Luke had summoned a glowing bone in his paws and hit DJ in the side with it. Shaking off the hit, DJ got to his feet and ran towards the larger aura Pokémon, his paws coated in a shadowy aura. Just as DJ was about land a hit with his shadow claws, Luke caught both of his wrists and held them away from him.

"Shadow claw, huh?" Luke said, slightly impressed. "You've got some skills kid, but..." Luke's grip on DJ's wrists before he threw DJ into the air. As DJ was falling, Luke launched a dark pulse at the airborne Riolu, hitting him dead on. "...You're no match for me."

"GAHH!" DJ cried out in pain as he hit the ground.

"Pathetic," Luke said as he approached the downed Riolu. "I expected so much more from someone that Mew handpicked to-"

Luke was cut off when DJ, who was seemingly unable to get up, jumped to his feet and shot an aura sphere into Luke's stomach. The impact of the blue sphere of energy caused Luke to stumble back in pain. Before Luke could recover, DJ leapt at him and kicked him in the side with a blaze kick. DJ then used force palm and buried his paw into Luke's gut sending him skidding back. Using his remaining energy, DJ created another aura sphere that was larger than most and with a shout of rage, launched the sphere at the Lucario, causing a massive explosion.

DJ's arms slumped to his side and fell to one knee, his energy spent. "*huff huff* He wasn't so tough," DJ said, allowing his body to relax as he tried to catch his breath.

"Not so tough am I?" DJ's face paled as he looked at the smoke and saw Luke step out of it, covered in a few scratches and bruises. "That was impressive little pup, but like I said..." he said as he kicked DJ in the gut and sent him skidding down the street and into the wall of a building. "You're no match for me."

"Dammit," DJ said from his position on the ground. He struggled to get up, but found that he could not move. Before he could attempt to stand again, Luke had grabbed him by his collar and lifted him into the air.

"Looks like you've reached your limit," Luke said as he laughed evilly at the young Riolu, who was feebly trying to break Luke's grip on his neck. Luke then tore the pouch off of DJ's neck. "I'll just be taking this."

"No," DJ said feebly as he continued to struggle.

"Oh, so you've still got some fight left in you huh? Impressive" Luke said in an amused tone. "Too bad you're fighting for the wrong side. If you were to join me I could teach you how to use your primal aura properly."

"No way," DJ said as he continued to struggle. "That power only corrupts!"

"So narrow minded," Luke said. "You remind me of myself when I was your age. We truly are alike."

"I am nothing like you!"

"Are you sure?" Luke questioned. "If we weren't the same, we wouldn't have ended up as Riolu when we came to this world. Going off of that I can see that we have the same desire, meaning you crave power. You want to be strong and you'll do anything to become strong."

"N-no! Y-you're wrong!" DJ denied, though there was some uncertainty in his voice.

"You don't sound sure," Luke commented. "I can see it in your eyes. Face it. We are the same. Join me, and I will teach you how to use your primal aura and you will have all the power you'll ever need."

"N-no!" DJ shouted. "I won't join you and I won't use that power!"

"Such a waste," Luke sighed as he tightened his grip. "Fine then. If you won't join me..." Luke raised his other hand threateningly. "Then you shall be disposed of."

Before Luke could bring down his paw he was stopped by a shout. "Put him down Luke!" Luke turned and saw that the speaker was Alistair.

"Gramps," DJ said, relieved that his teacher was here.

"Gramps?" Luke said amusedly. "We really are similar. It's been awhile, hasn't it old man."

"I'm not going to ask you again Luke," Alistair growled. "Put. Him. Down."

"As you wish," Luke said before tossing DJ towards Alistair, who caught the injured Riolu. "It doesn't matter anyway. I have all of the key shards and soon, I will plunge this world into darkness."

"You'll never get away with this!" Alistair shouted.

"How cliché," Luke said. "You can't stop me old man. No one can." He then cast a final glance at DJ. "When you come to your senses, you're free to join me and I will teach you how to utilize your power. Until then, enjoy your last few days of light."

"You're not getting away!" Alistair shouted as he formed an aura sphere in his free paw and shot it at Luke. Before the sphere could make contact, Luke pulled out a blue orb and smashed it on the ground, causing a bright flash to envelop the street. When the light faded, Luke was nowhere to be seen. "Dammit!" Alistair shouted in aggravation before looking at DJ, his eyes full of concern. "Are you okay DJ?"

"I'm sorry," DJ said, not meeting Alistair's eyes. "I couldn't stop him. He got the key shard and now he has all of them." Tears began to form in DJ's eyes. "Because of me, Luke can activate the dark wells."

"Don't worry about that," Alistair said soothingly. "We can worry about that later. First we need to get you healed up. Okay?"

"...Okay," DJ muttered, still not looking Alistair in the eye.

A few minutes later Team Stardust, Cecil, Tobias, Audrey, and Alistair were all sitting in Tobias' office in the guild, their faces. Audrey was patching everyone up while muttering things about reckless guild members.

"So Luke is the one behind all of this?" Tobias asked earning a nod from Alistair. "I should have known."

"And on top of that, he's got all the shards now," Cecil said, causing DJ to look even more depressed. Seeing this Alistair put a reassuring paw on DJ's shoulder.

"You tried your best DJ," Alistair said reassuringly. "Luke is a powerful foe, even Tobias and I would be hard pressed to beat him."

"But if I had been stronger, I could have kept him from getting the shard until you got there," DJ argued, his paws clenching into fists.

"We can't dwell on that now," Tobias interrupted, putting his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. "Now we must focus on the task at hand. Luke has all of the shards, but in order fuse the shards together it will take several psychic. Not only that, but it will take several days for the key to become complete. In that time we need to find Luke's location and stop him from activating the dark wells."

"How many dark wells are there?" Katara asked.

"In total, there are twenty, but all it takes is one dark well to plunge the world into darkness," Tobias said. "You see, when one dark well is activated, it sets off a chain reaction that can activate the other dark wells."

"So Luke only needs to activate one of the wells in order plunge the world into darkness," Asura said grimly, earning a nod from his father.

"What are we going to do when we find his location?" Grace asked.

Tobias sighed and closed his eyes in thought. "When we find him... we will fight," Tobias said, shocking everybody. "I will gather all teams in the guild silver rank and up and fight Luke and his forces before he can open a dark well."

"A-are you serious Tobias?" Audrey asked in utter shock.

"Unfortunately this is our only option," Tobias sighed. "We know that Luke has hired many outlaws of all ranks and we need all the help we can get. If this were to get out into the public, there will be mass hysteria. We will also inform Officer Magnezone and hopefully he will send some of his officers to aid us in our pursuit."

"But... are you sure about this Tobias?" Alistair asked. "You would be putting your guild members in harms way."

"I know," Tobias said. "They will have a choice of whether or not they want to join us. Either way I will personally lead those who wish to fight."

"We will join you father," Asura said with conviction. Tobias looked at his son and his team and saw the conviction and determination in their eyes.

"Are you sure son?" Tobias asked, not wanting his son and his team to be in danger. "This will be dangerous."

"The fate of the world's at stake, do you really think that we would back down?" Blitz asked sarcastically.

"For once, I agree with the mouse," Bertha said, ignoring the glare Blitz sent her way. "We can't just sit by and let are world be consumed by darkness."

The rest of Team Stardust nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Tobias sighed.

"Very well then," he said, a small smile gracing his face. "I will make the announcement tomorrow morning. Until then, rest up. All of you." Everyone present nodded in affirmation and left the office, leaving Tobias to his thoughts.

"Gramps...?" DJ asked quietly. Noticing DJ's tone, he slowed down so that the two of them were walking behind the group.

"Yes pup?" Alistair asked.

"Can you help me train?" DJ asked, not even reacting to the fact that Alistair called him 'pup'. "Luke got the last shard because I wasn't strong enough." He flashed back to what Luke said to him about him craving power. Deep down, he knew Luke was right about him, but there was one thing that separated them. While Luke was willing to gain power by any means necessary, even using the primal aura, DJ would never put his friends in danger for the sake of power. "I want to be strong without using the primal aura."

Alistair looked at DJ for a second before a proud smile formed on his face. "You've come far little pup." he said. "I would be honored to train you. But be warned. It will be the most grueling thing that you will ever experience."

"My 'little brother is about to be tortured sense' is tingling," Cecil said, suddenly appearing next to her brother, startling him. "I want in."

"Joy," DJ muttered.

**The Next Day**

All of the silver rank teams and higher were gathered in the main guild hall. All of them, except Team Stardust, were conversing each other, wondering why Tobias had called them. After a few minutes Tobias arrived, with Alistair and Audrey by his side, and addressed those present.

"Attention Pokémon!" Tobias said, gaining everyone's attention. "I have gathered you all here to discuss grave matters. As some of you may know, Kangaskhan Storage was attacked yesterday. Cana and her child were okay, but something important was stolen. A key shard."

This caused multiple people to gasp and converse with some around them.

"A key shard?" asked one Pokémon. "I thought they were only a myth!"

"Why would someone take a key shard?" asked another. "It's unthinkable."

"I'm afraid that's not the worst of it," Tobias said. "The one that stole the shard is in possession of the other shards." At this everyone was in an uproar.

"Seriously?!" shouted one Pokémon. "That means they can activate the dark wells!"

"WE'RE DOOMED!"

"What do we do?! What do we do?!"

"ENOUGH!" Tobias shouted. "We are not doomed and we will persevere! I have gathered you all here to discuss a plan. Yesterday, I informed Officer Magnezone of our predicament. He sent one of his officers to try to locate the thief's location. When they have located him, I will lead those who wish to fight against him and those who fight alongside with him. Those of you who do not wish to fight, you are allowed to leave and no one will thing ill of you. The choice is yours."

At this there was silence as everyone slowly processed what they had just learned. Slowly the teams began to converse with each other, deciding whether to stay or not. After a few minutes of waiting, Pokémon began to filter out. After a few minutes there were fifteen teams left including Team Stardust, Team Sunflare, and Team Odd Squad.

"Is that your final decision?" Tobias asked. When no one moved, Tobias could not help but smile at the bravery of his guild. "Then we shall prepare for battle. When we hear back from Officer Magnezone, we shall fight!"

"YEAH!" shouted everyone in approval.

"Until then, you are all to train for the battle," Tobias said. "That is all."

Slowly the teams began to trickle out of the guild until only Team Stardust remained. When all of the teams had exited the building, Team Stardust approached the guild master.

"Can I help you?" Tobias asked when he saw his son's team approach.

"I wanted to make a request," DJ said, awkwardly shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"What is it?" Tobias asked.

"Well I sort a wanted to..." DJ murmured.

"What was that?" Tobias asked. "Speak up please."

DJ took a deep breath before speaking again. "I want to be the one that confronts Luke," he said shocking Tobias and Team Stardust, who had not heard of this.

"WHAT?!" everyone asked.

"Why do you want to fight him alone?!" Cecil asked.

"That's extremely foolish," Alistair lectured

"You don't need to do this DJ," Katara said. "Revenge isn't the answer."

"Here me out," DJ said, cutting everyone off. "I'm not doing this for revenge or anything, but I feel... obligated to fight Luke."

"Why?" Alistair asked.

"It's why Mew brought me here," DJ answered simply. "Mew brought me here in order to stop the dark wells from activating. I know it sounds selfish, but I feel like I'm the one who's supposed to fight him alone. Please. Let me do this."

"You don't seriously want to fight him alone," Alistair said. "Fighting him alone would be foolish. At least take the rest of Team Stardust with you."

"No," DJ replied immediately. "I don't want anyone to be hurt by this. I was sent here for this purpose and I don't want anyone to be hurt."

Before anyone could answer, Katara stepped up next to him and slapped him across the face, shocking everyone. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "After all this time... you still think you have to do this alone. You don't have to do this alone. We're your teammates and we'll stand by you no matter what."

DJ was stunned at Katara's outburst. He looked at the rest of the team who all nodded, confirming Katara's statement. He actually felt tears well up in his eyes. Though he had only met these Pokémon a few months ago and they were willing to put their lives on the line for them.

"Thank you," DJ said as he wiped his eyes. "Thank you guys so much."

Tobias looked at the young team and sighed, though he could not help but feel proud. "Alright then," Tobias said. "However, I want you to take Cecil with you. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Team Stardust replied in unison.

For the next five days the teams participating in battle were all busy training, each one pushing themselves to their limit. Word came in the morning of the fifth day from Officer Magnezone. One of his scouts had found Luke was located in a tower that was about a two day trip from Miracle Town. To Tobias' horror, the tower was built around a dark well, with the dark well being at the top of the tower.

According to the scouts, Luke had a group of outlaws working for him about one hundred Pokémon strong. When Officer Magnezone's scouts had tried to get closer, they were attacked by several of Luke's forces.

After learning this, Tobias called all those participating and let them know what was going on. Soon all of the teams were standing at the outskirts of Miracle Town awaiting Tobias. Currently, Team Sunflare, Odd Squad, and Stardust were conversing with each other.

"So how did your guy's training go?" Collin asked.

"Are's went well," Davis answered. "We're stronger than ever!"

"Don't get cocky," Garfield said evenly. "We're going up against multiple outlaws who outnumber us five to one. We can't afford to get overconfident."

"Whatever," Davis said before turning his attention to Team Stardust. "So how did your guy's training go?"

"I don't know about them, but my training was hell," DJ answered rolling his shoulders in anticipation. "Gramps and Cecil ran me into the ground everyday. It was torture."

"Ungrateful brat," Cecil grunted. "You should be thankful that we helped you."

"I never said I wasn't grateful," DJ fired back. "I'm just saying it was torture!"

"I notice you're not wearing you anklets," Katara said, cutting the two off before they could argue.

"Oh, yeah," DJ said as if just realizing that he was no longer wearing them. "They actually became to light for me so they don't help me anymore."

"Seriously?" Tyler asked.

"Yep," DJ answered proudly. "I can now move as fast as I could when I knew quick attack."

"Nice," John commented.

"Shhh!" Alex said, using one of his tails to point to the front of the group. They looked in that direction and saw Tobias had arrived and was now addressing the group.

"Today is the day we move out!" Tobias said, his voice resonating throughout the crowd. "When we arrive you are all to attack Luke's main forces and draw them out. Meanwhile, Team Stardust will infiltrate the tower itself and confront Luke."

"Why are _they_ the ones that are going to fight him?" asked a random Pokémon, getting a few murmurs of agreement.

"Because I said so," Tobias said curtly, not in the mood to explain things. "Now move out everybody!"

Though his lack of an answer caused a few teams to grumble, the teams followed Tobias' orders and set out towards the tower.

**Two Days Later At Luke's Tower**

"What is the progress of the key?" Luke asked one of his subordinates.

"It is near completion," a Duosion. "It shall be complete in thirty minutes."

"Good, good," Luke said, his smile spreading across his face. "Soon I will activate the dark well and plunge this world into darkness."

"Master Luke!"

The dark Lucario turned and saw a Raticate running towards him.

"What is it?" Luke asked in an annoyed tone.

"The scouts reported that there was a large group of Pokémon heading this way!" the Raticate said. "They said that there was a Gallade leading them. They will be here in fifteen minutes!"

"I see," Luke said turning towards a window and looking out. "Looks like Tobias is making his move."

"What should we do sir?" the Raticate asked.

Luke was silent for a moment, before turning towards the rat Pokémon. "Mobilize the troops and have them set up a perimeter around the tower. Then tell my generals to get to their places in the tower." As he talked his smile began to grow. "If Tobias wants a battle, then I'll give him one."


	29. Chapter 29

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust**

**Chapter 29: Final Battle Part 1**

The member of Gallade's Guild sitting in a clearing five miles out from Luke's tower, waiting for Tobias to give his next set of orders. The teams were conversing with each other in an attempt to combat their growing anxiety over the ensuing battle.

"Are you guys ready?" Collin asked the member of Team Stardust.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Asura answered, looking at his team. "We've been training non-stop for the past week in preparation for this."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is Guildmaster Gallade having your team going up against this guy?" Michaela asked curiously.

"It's because DJ felt that it was his duty to go up against him and my father didn't want him to go in the tower alone," Asura answered.

"Why is it his duty?" Max asked.

"Because it's why I was sent to this world," DJ answered looking at his paws.

"What do you mean by that?" Tyler asked.

"Oh, that's right! I never told you guys!" DJ exclaimed.

"Explain what?" Jessie asked.

"I'm a human," DJ said simply.

"WHAT?!" Team Sunflare shouted.

"Yeah, I'm a human. Cecil's one too," DJ said pointing at Cecil, who waved at them.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" John asked incredulously.

"It never came up," DJ said with a shrug.

Before anymore could be said, Tobias walked up in front the assembled Pokémon.

"Pokémon!" Tobias said, gaining everyone's attention. "We are about to march onward towards the tower. As you know, there is a dark well situated on the top of the tower. While the rest of us engage Luke's forces, Team Stardust is to infiltrate the tower and proceed to the top of the tower and stop Luke from activating the well." Tobias then turned his gaze to Team Stardust, who gave him confident looks. "We are unsure if Luke has forces inside of the tower, so be prepared for anything. Also, you will need to move quickly in order to ensure that the key is not reformed. It takes a tremendous amount of psychic energy to bring the shards together, so the key will not be ready right away. So you are to infiltrate the tower, and if possible, stop the key from being reformed. Understood?"

Team Stardust nodded at those words, there faces showing determination. Seeing this Tobias gave them a small smile before returning his attention to the rest of the group. "The rest of us are to engage Luke's forces, keeping him from realizing that we have a group infiltrating his tower. Luke's forces consist of outlaws varying from thieves to cold-blooded killers, so try to stay with at least two others when engaging the enemies! Any questions?" Seeing that there were none, Tobias nodded. "Then we head out!"

A few minutes later, Gallade's Guild stood twenty five yards from the tower, on a hill overlooking the tower. They were greeted by the sight of a large group of outlaws.

"Looks like they were expecting us," Katerina said gazing at the outlaws that outnumbered them five to one.

"That's a lot of Pokémon," Kimberly commented, slightly nervous.

"Don't get overwhelmed," Garfield commenting. "Just stay focused and watch your back."

"Well said," Garfield turned and saw Alistair approaching.

"Alistair," Garfield said. "It's good to see you again, too bad it's under such bad circumstances."

"Likewise," Alistair said, stopping next to the Raichu and looking at the assembled outlaws. "This will be a tough fight."

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about my little brother," Garfield said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Alistair said placing a reassuring paw on Garfield's shoulder.

"But he's just a kid," Garfield said. "They all are. They shouldn't even be participating in this battle."

"I don't think you give your brother enough credit," Alistair said. "He's a lot stronger than you think. His whole team is. Besides, you're only a couple years older than him."

"I know but..." Garfield tried to argue, but was cut off by Alistair.

"Just have faith in him," Alistair said. "He will be fine."

Garfield wanted to argue, but Tobias stood in front of the group.

"Everyone!" Tobias shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "Now is the time to fight for what we believe in. We must win this battle at any and all cost, for if we don't the world will be plunged into darkness. The fate of the world lies in our hands. Let us fight for this world!"

"RAAHH!" the guild shouted in agreement.

"CHARGE!" Tobias shouted and everyone ran towards the tower, gaining the attention of the outlaws surrounding the tower. The battle of the tower had begun.

Meanwhile, Team Stardust and Cecil were situated on the other side of the tower, hiding in the surrounding forest, staring at the entrance to the tower and waiting for Tobias' signal. When they heard Tobias' shout and saw the majority of the outlaws guarding the entrance run off to assist their comrades, leaving three outlaws guarding the entrance, Team Stardust nodded at each other and charged the remaining outlaws, surprising them.

Before the outlaws could react they were hit by two aura spheres, a thunderbolt, a water pulse, a dragon pulse, and energy ball, a dark pulse, and a psyshock. The three were unconscious before they hit the ground.

"That was almost too easy," Blitz commented.

"Don't get cocky," Asura said. "There could still be outlaws inside the tower. We need to be careful."

"Right," everyone agreed before entering the tower.

Inside the tower, in a white room with large stain glass windows on the wall, depicting the legendaries, Luke stood in front of a group of five psychic types (an Alakazam, a Grumpig, a Beeheeyem, a Gothitelle, and a Meowstic) that were standing in a circle, pooling there combined psychic energy into the center, creating a glowing blue orb in the center. After a few seconds the light died down, revealing a seven inch purple crystal with two shards jutting out of the sides on either side, making the crystal look like a dagger.

"It is done master," the Beeheeyem said, levitating the crystal to Luke.

"Excellent," Luke said, a sick smile. "Soon I shall plunge this world into darkness and then-"

"Master!" came a voice interrupting Luke from his monologue. The dark Lucario turned and saw a Corphish scuttle in.

"What?!" Luke snapped, scaring the small crustacean Pokémon.

"I-I j-just came to report that our forces are currently engaging with the members of Gallade's Guild," the Corphish stuttered.

"I am aware of this," Luke said irritably.

"There are also reports that a small group of Pokémon have infiltrated the tower and are currently making their way up the tower," the Corphish said. "They say that one of them was a Riolu that could use aura sphere."

"A Riolu you say," Luke said, a smirk appearing on his face. "I see. Alert my generals and tell them to be prepared." The Corphish bowed and scuttled out of the room as fast as he could. "It appears that my plans have been bumped up." Luke said, his smirk still plastered on his face.

"This place is worse than a mystery dungeon!" Blitz exclaimed in exasperation as he fired a thunderbolt at a rogue Zubat.

"I know," Bertha agreed as she slammed her bone club into the skull of a Luxio. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it _was_ a dungeon."

"Less talking, more fighting!" Jackson shouted as he fired a dark pulse into a small crowd of Pokémon, causing them to be sent in various directions.

"How much further is the top?" Katara asked.

"The tower has a total of twenty floors and we have currently gone up thirteen, so we have seven floors to go before we reach the top," Jackson answered.

"At least were almost there," Katara sighed.

"Hey look at this," DJ said, gaining everyone's attention. He was standing in the entrance of a large circular room with white walls and large windows on the wall. "Those windows are cool."

"We don't have time to admire the scenery," Cecil scolded. "We need to go."

"Wait," Asura said, stepping into the room. "I sense a lot of psychic energy in this room."

"But that means..." Grace said.

"The key has been reformed," Drake finished with a grim expression.

"We need to move, _now_," Asura said, before they all took off running down the hall and to the stairs.

**Tower F14**

Team Stardust reached the next floor and were surprised to see that the entire floor was made up of one room with pillars surrounding the outer rim of the room and a staircase at the end of the room.

"What the heck," Jackson exclaimed. "Why is this floor just one room?"

"Well it would be hard to have a battle with multiple rooms now wouldn't it," a voice said to Team Stardust's left. They turned just in time to see a Magmortar stepping out from behind one of the pillars. "I take it you are the team that Master Luke warned us about."

"Us?" DJ questioned.

"Yes, us," the Magmortar answered. "Five other Pokémon and I were handpicked by Luke himself to protect the tower and keep anyone from stopping his plans of plunging this world into darkness."

"That means there is most likely there is a Pokémon on each of the remaining floors," Cecil commented.

"Wait. I know you!" Grace exclaimed. "You're Magma! You were arrested for kidnapping and arson!"

"Oh, you know of me! I'm so flattered!" Magma exclaimed with mock glee before raising his arms, his claws retreating into his arms, and pointing them at Team Stardust. "Anyway, I'm afraid I can't let you go any further." Without giving them anytime to reply, Magma shot a dual flamethrower from his arms at Team Stardust.

Seeing the approaching flames, Team Stardust jumped to the sides and his themselves behind the pillars.

"Aww, come on," Magma said childishly. "Come on out. It's no fun if they don't fight back."

"Come on, we can take this guy," DJ said.

"That's what he wants," Asura said. "He's only here to stall for time."

"Well the sooner we take him out, the sooner we can move on," DJ argued.

"We don't have time for that," Bertha said. "I'll keep him occupied so that you all can get passed him."

"WHAT?!" Blitz exclaimed in shock. "You're not seriously planning on fighting him alone!"

"We don't have much of a choice," Bertha said solemnly. "Look, I've got the best chance of beating him out of all of us. If I can distract him then you all can sneak past him and get to the next floor."

"I hate to say it, but she's right," Asura said. "Are you sure that you can handle him?"

"Bertha nodded confidently. "I'm sure."

"Then be careful," Asura said. "We're leaving this up to you."

"Understood," Bertha said and before anyone could argue, she dashed out from behind the pillar and faced Magma."

"We can't just leave her to fight him alone!" Blitz said.

"We have no choice," Blade said. "We have to put our trust in her."

"So you plan on fighting me?" Magma asked seeing Bertha dash out. "What? Are your friends to scared to face me?"

"I'm more than enough to deal with you." Bertha said confidently while hefting her bone.

"Big words from such a small Pokémon," Magma commented. "Ah, well. I guess I'll turn you to ash first."

"I'd like to see you try," Bertha said before charging the bigger Pokémon.

Seeing her approach, Magma smirked before releasing a torrent of flame at her from his arms. Bertha jumped to the side and avoided the attack before throwing her bone at Magma. Unprepared for the attack, Magma was hit in the face by the bone, causing him to stumble back. The bone then bounced back towards Bertha who caught it.

"That good enough for you?" Bertha questioned cockily.

"You little bitch," Magma all but growled out. "I'm going to burn you to ashes, then I'm going to burn your ashes!" With that, Magma shot another flamethrower at Bertha.

"Well aren't you just a one-trick Ponyta," Bertha commented as she dodged the flames and charged Magma, preparing to deliver a bone club attack.

Magma managed to jump back and avoided the bone. Magma's fist then became engulfed in flames and he punched Bertha across the face, sending her careening back. He then brought his arms in a cross formation and gray stones appeared around him. He then launched the stones at Bertha, who had to roll away to avoid them.

"Not such a one-trick Ponyta now am I?" Magma asked rhetorically.

"No," Bertha said, looking behind him and smiling. "But you are an idiot."

Magma gave her a curious look before turning around in time to see Team Stardust running up the stair. "WHAT?! NO!" Magma shouted. He tried to pursue them, but Bertha threw her bone at the back of his knees, causing him to fall.

"You're not going anywhere," Bertha said, catching her bone.

"You little BITCH!" Magma shouted, his face contorted in rage. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

"Whatever," Bertha said, further enraging the Magmortar.

Magma gave a rage filled shout and shot and launched another rock slide at Bertha, who managed to deflect the rocks with her bone. Bertha's body was then coated in a golden aura before she slammed her bone into the ground, unleashing a powerful earth power.

Seeing the cracks sent by the earth power closing in on him, Magma jumped into the air and fired another flamethrower at Bertha, who was caught off guard. Bertha gave a cry of pain as she felt the flames lick at her body, but she fought through the pain and threw her bone again, hitting Magma, who was still in the air.

Magma went crashing to the ground, clutching his side where the bone had impacted, but he quickly got to his feet and launched another rock slide, this time aiming for Bertha's bone that was flying back to Bertha. The rocks impacted the bone causing it to land off to the side. Bertha attempted to retrieve her bone, but a torrent of flames hit right in front of her, stopping her from reaching her bone.

"I don't think so," Magma said with a sick smirk, walking up to Bertha, his arm canon pointed directly at her face. "It appears that our little game has come to an end. Any last words?" Bertha only growled lowly at the Magmortar, causing him to chuckle evilly. "I guess not." he said. "Then prepare to die."

Bertha watched as flames began to form in Magma's arm canon and closed her eyes. _Sorry guys_, she thought to herself. _I tried._

Seeing Bertha close her eyes, Magma laughed maniacally. "BURN!" he shouted as he prepared to unleash a flamethrower, but before he could use his attack, he was hit by a glowing tail and was sent flying into a wall.

Bertha opened her eyes when she did not feel the heat of Magma's flamethrower and was shocked to see Blitz standing next to her, glaring at Magma. "Blitz?!" she asked. "What are you doing here?! You were supposed to go with the others!"

"And leave you to fight this guy by yourself?" Blitz said, picking up Bertha's bone and handing it to her. "Fat chance."

"But-"

"Look, can we save the arguments for after we take this guy out?" Blitz questioned, gesturing to Magma, who had gotten back to his feet, his face promising death.

"You think that you can beat me?!" Magma asked. "Fool. It doesn't matter how many of you there are because I WILL BURN YOU ALL TO ASH!"

**Tower F15**

"I hope Bertha will be okay," Katara said as she followed her team up the stairs.

"She'll be fine," Grace said reassuringly. "She's tough and she won't let that overgrown matchstick beat her."

"Plus Blitz went after her," DJ commented.

"What?!" Asura turned so fast that everyone thought he would get whiplash. "Why didn't you stop him."

"He was already gone when I noticed he wasn't following us," DJ said.

"We don't have time to worry about that now," Cecil interjected. "We need to keep moving."

Asura reluctantly dropped the subject and continued up the stairs. When they made it out of the staircase they saw that the room that they entered looked like a cave with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere.

The team walked cautiously through the room, knowing that there was someone in the room. However, they could not find anyone.

"I thought there was supposed to be someone on each floor," Leaf said.

"Maybe they left," Katara commented.

"Maybe..." Asura said. "DJ, use your aura sight to check the room."

DJ nodded and was about to use his aura sight, but before he could, Blade looked up at the ceiling. "LOOK OUT!" Blade shouted as he pushed DJ to the side just as a dark purple blur came from the ceiling and hit the ground where DJ was standing.

"Darn," the purple Pokémon said. It then stood up, revealing itself to be the Gliscor that Asura and Blade encountered at Dark Cave. "I missed."

"You," Blade growled out, raising his blade threateningly.

The Gliscor looked at him with an uninterested face. "Sorry, do I know you?" the Gliscor.

"I was the Scyther you fought at Dark Cave," Blade said angrily.

"Hmmm," the Gliscor said, placing a claw on his chin as if he was thinking. "Nope, don't remember you. You must not have been strong if I can't remember you."

"You guys go ahead," Blade said, stepping in front of the Gliscor. "I'll handle this guy."

"But you weren't able to beat him alone last time," Asura said, worry laced in his voice.

"He won't be alone," Drake said, stepping forward to stand next to his brother.

"You sure about this Drake?" Blade asked. Drake only nodded in conformation, causing Blade to smile. "Well okay then. You guys go on. We'll handle this."

The rest of Team Stardust nodded and made there way to the stairs, leaving their two teammates to face the Gliscor.

"So I'm fighting you two?" the Gliscor asked, and arrogant smirk on his face. "The name is Scorpio. I want you to remember it, because its the last name you'll ever know."

"We'll see," Blade said before he and Drake lunged at Scorpio.

**Tower F16**

Team Stardust exited the stairwell and came upon a room that was so dark that they could barely see two feet in front of themselves.

"It seems that I have guests," came a voice from in the dark room.

"Who's there?!" Asura demanded while looking around. "Show yourself!"

"Kukuku. Now where would the fun in that be?" the voice said.

"Enough of this," Jackson said before the rings on his body glowed brightly, illuminating the room. With the room now illuminated, they were able to see that the room was similar to the previous room, but there were more stalactites than stalagmites.

"You all are no fun," the voice said before a Crobat descended from the ceiling and remained three feet off the ground. "I wanted to play some more.

"Yeah well, we don't have time to play," Jackson said seriously. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up after I take care of this guy."

"But Jackson-" Katara tried to argue, but was cut off by the moonlight Pokémon.

"Considering that I'm the only one that can see in the dark, I'm have the best chance," Jackson said, he then turned to DJ. "I know that you can see in the dark, but you wanted to face Luke, so leave this to me."

"He's right," DJ said, angry that they had to leave another friend. "We have no other choice. Be careful Jackson."

"Aren't I always?" Jackson said cheekily before turning serious. "Now go!"

The remaining members of Team Stardust nodded and ran towards the stairs. Once they had left, the Crobat shifted his attention to Jackson. "Sending your friends away to face me alone, how gutless."

"What? How is that gutless," Jackson asked.

"Because, suicide is the cowards way out," the Crobat said, his smile threatening to split his face.

"Ugh, can we just fight," Jackson asked in exasperation.

"Your funeral," the Crobat said as he flew higher in the air. "My name is Venom. Might I know the name of my next victim."

"My name is Jackson and I won't lose to you!" Jackson said before he cut off the lights that were coming from his rings, blanketing the room in darkness.

**Tower F17**

"I don't like this," DJ said as they ran up the stairs. "We keep leaving everyone behind."

"DJ, none of us like doing that, but we have no choice," Grace said. "We need to keep moving on so we can reach the dark well."

"But..."

"Alpha," Leaf interjected. "We all knew the risk of participating in this fight. They are sacrificing themselves so that we can go on and stop the dark well from being activated. All we can do is believe in them and have faith that they can defeat their opponents."

DJ was silent for a moment before he sighed and gave Leaf a grateful look. "Thanks Leaf," he said. "I needed that."

"You are welcome Alpha," Leaf said with a small bow, causing everyone to sweat-drop.

They soon came into another room that was huge room made of gray stone. The only thing that was in the room was a Tyrantrum, who was staring at them as if they were its next meal.

"Tiny's next meal here," the Tyrantrum, now named Tiny, growled out, staring at them hungrily.

"You guys go," Grace said stepping up. "I've got the type advantage on this guy, so just leave it to me."

"Alright then," Asura said, though he did not look happy about this. "Be safe." Grace nodded and the rest of the team made a break for the stairs.

"You not go anywhere," Tiny roared and attempted to intercept them, only to be hit by a powerful fairy wind, causing him to lose his footing and topple over. When he got back to his feet he looked at the stairs and saw the teams retreating forms running away. He then gave a roar of outrage before glaring at Grace. "You let Tiny's food escape! You Tiny's food now!"

Grace gave a shudder of revulsion. "Sorry, but I have no attention of becoming _anyone's _food," she said. Tiny gave another roar and charged at Grace with surprising speed. _He's a lot faster than I thought he would be_, she thought as she braced herself for battle.

**Tower F18**

Team Stardust entered the next room and were surprised at what they saw. While there were a few stalactites on the ceiling, the ground was devoid of any obstructions. Painted on the floor was a large rectangular box, that took up the majority of the room, and a line split the box in half.

"This is..." Cecil said.

"... a battlefield," DJ finished.

"Very astute observation," came a sarcastic voice. Everyone turned and saw a Floatzel approaching them.

"Jet..." Asura said, his voice full of pain.

"Hello old _friend_," Jet said, emphasizing the word 'friend'. He then looked at the other four Pokémon that stood next to his old teammate. "It seems that I was easily replaced."

"It's not like that Jet!" Asura said.

"Save your excuses," Jet said with a glare. "I'm here to make sure that you don't interfere with my master's plan."

"Guys," Asura said, gaining his team's attention. "Leave him to me."

"Are you sure about this Asura?" Katara asked in concern. "He's not the same Jet you knew back then."

"I know," Asura said, not taking his eyes off Jet. "I'm positive that the old Jet is still in there. I just need to snap him out of it."

"If you're sure..." DJ said.

"I am," Asura said.

"Then good luck," DJ said before he and the others ran pass Jet and to the stairs.

"You seriously want to fight me alone?" Jet questioned as he watched DJ and the others run up the stairs. "Fine by me, but know that I won't hold back."

"You don't have to do this Jet," Asura pleaded. "Please, snap out of it."

"I don't know what you're talking about ," Jet said as he crossed his arms.

"Scourge is controlling you! Please Jet, come back to us!"

"Why would I go back to a group that abandoned me and left me for dead?"

"We didn't abandon you!" Asura cried out desperately. "We tried to save you, but-"

"Enough of your excuses!" Jet shouted, surprising Asura. "I refuse to listen to anymore of your lies."

"But Jet-"

"Enough talk. We settle this now!" Jet said before he ran at Asura and attempted to hit him with an ice punch.

Asura barely reacted in time, but was able to avoid the glowing fist. Jet continued his assault by launching a razor wind at Asura, forcing him to jump to avoid the glowing energy blade. Before Asura could land, Jet shot at him with an aqua jet, slamming into Asura's stomach, sending him crashing into the ground.

_Damn_, Asura thought to himself as he got to his feet and looked at Jet, who was smirking. _He's a lot stronger than before. If I want to beat him I have to stop holding back._

"Don't tell me that's all you've got," Jet said cockily.

"Not even close," Asura said, getting into a fighting stance. "I promise you Jet, that I will free you from Scourge's control, even if I have to beat you senseless!"

"Bold words," Jet said, getting into a fighting stance as well. "Let's see if you can back them up!"

**Tower F19**

"This room is... different," DJ commented as the group of four entered the next level of the tower.

The room looked like something out of a child's fantasy. The walls, ceiling, and floor were white with multicolored polka-dots all over them. Scattered throughout the rooms were life-sized stuffed Pokémon dolls, including a huge Dragonite doll. There were also several giant bouncy balls placed throughout the room.

"This place looks like a child's playroom," Katara said.

"Hehehehe. Thank you!" a childish voice came from behind the Dragonite doll. The group turned towards the doll and a Mr. Mime walked out with a smile. "Ooooo! New toys to play with!"

"We're not toys," DJ said.

"Of course you are," Jojo said, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "Everyone is Jojo's toys. And I play with my toys until they break."

Before anyone could react the eyes of the Mr. Mime, now known as Jojo, glowed blue and a blue outline appeared around DJ. DJ gave a yelp as he was lifted into the air and pulled towards the Mr. Mime. Thankfully, before Jojo could grab DJ, Cecil rushed forward with extreme speed and grabbed DJ.

"No, no, no!" Jojo shouted as he continued to use psychic to try to pull DJ from Cecil's grip, his face. "He's my toy!"

"My brother is not a toy!" Cecil said before firing an aura sphere at Jojo. As soon as the glowing orb impacted Jojo in the stomach, sending him flying and causing his connection to falter, releasing DJ.

"Thanks sis," DJ said in relief.

"Don't worry," Cecil said, putting DJ down. "No one messes with my little brother except me."

"Thanks... I think,"

"MEANIE!" everyone turned and saw Jojo climbing to his feet, his face red with anger. "YOU TOOK MY TOY! NOW I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"You all go ahead, I'll take the clown," Cecil said confidently.

"Are you sure Cecil?" DJ asked his sister.

"Of course I'm sure," Cecil answered, smiling down at her little brother. "I'll deal with this guys as fast as I can then I'll meet up with you at the top."

"Okay, just be careful." DJ said. "He may act like a kid, but he's strong. I felt it when he used his psychic on me. The pull that was applied on me had a lot of power behind it. Don't underestimate him."

"Don't worry about me little brother," Cecil said ruffling the fur on DJ's head, much to his ire. "Just make sure you stop Luke from activating the dark well."

"You got it," DJ said as he, Leaf, and Katara ran towards the stairs.

"No! You're not going anywhere!" Jojo shouted as he prepared to use psychic. Before he could use the attack, Cecil had slammed into him with extreme speed.

"You're fight's with me," Cecil told the crazy Mr. Mime.

Jojo was practically jumping up and down in rage when he saw that DJ and the others had escaped. "YOU BIG MEANIE!" he shouted. "I DON'T WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU!"

"Too bad," Cecil said.

"Fine then," Jojo growled while he glared at the Lucario. "I'll play with you then go after the blue puppy."

"Over my dead body!' Cecil shouted before she charged Jojo, determined to end this battle quickly, but before she could hit him, he disappeared. "What the-"

She was cut off by an electrified punch hitting her in the back. She whirled around, but saw nothing. She was then hit from behind again, this time, the force of the blow sent her to one knee.

"Teehee," Jojo's voice said, seemingly from all around. "How are you going to hit what you can't see."

"This is going to be harder than I thought," Cecil said under her breath as she got to her feet.

**Tower F20**

When the trio exited the stairwell, they were surprised to see and olympic size swimming pool with platforms littered throughout the pool. As soon as the trio got within five feet of the pool, a Empoleon burst out of the water and landed on one of the platforms.

"Well, well, well," the Empoleon said as she regarded the trio. "It looks like the other generals couldn't keep a bunch of brats from reaching the top. Ah, well. It doesn't matter. You won't get pass me."

"Alpha," Leaf said. "Leave this fight to me. I will distract her so that you can get to the top of the tower."

"Leaf you can't face her alone," DJ argued, not wanting to leave another friend.

"He won't be alone," Katara said confidently. "I'll help him."

"But-"

"The area is full of water, meaning I'm the best suited for this type of environment," Katara reasoned. When she saw that DJ wanted to argue, she continued. "Look, we don't have time to argue. You need to stop Luke before he activated the dark well. Just leave this to me and Leaf."

DJ looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed instead. "Fine, just be careful." he said.

"We will," Katara said with a smile.

"You act as if I'm going to let you pass," the Empoleon said, gaining the trio's attention. "I already told you, I won't let you pass!"

"That's not up to you," Katara said before expelling a huge cloud of smoke from her mouth that covered the entire room. When the smoke finally cleared, the only ones in the room were the Empoleon, Leaf, and Katara.

"Dammit!" the Empoleon shouted, looking around for the missing Riolu. When she did not find him she leveled a glare at Katara. "You're going to pay for that."

"Whatever you say," Katara said, further angering the Empoleon.

"YOU INSULENT BRAT!" the Empoleon shouted. "YOU WILL SOON FEEL THE WRATH OF TRITEIA!"

**Tower Pinnacle**

On the very top of the tower, Luke stood in front of what looked like a old,worn out stone well, that came up to his shoulder, with the purple crystal in his paw.

"No matter how many times I see it, I can't help but feel that the dark well is rather unimpressive," Luke said as he gazed at the well. "Ah, well." He then looked over the side of the tower and observed the fighting that was taking place below and smiled. "It appears that my forces are being overwhelmed. No matter. Once the dark well is activated, it won't matter."

"Too bad that won't happen!" Luke turned and saw DJ standing there.

"Ah, DJ. Good to see you again," Luke said. "Have you thought about my offer."

"I have," DJ answered.

"And..."

"And my answer is the same as before," DJ got into a fighting stance. "I will never join you!"

"Such a waste," Luke sighed. "Then it can't be helped. If you are not with me," Luke got into his own fighting stance. "Then you are in my way and I will crush all those in my way."


	30. Chapter 30

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stardust**

**Chapter 30: Final Battle Part 2**

At the base of the tower Tobias and his guild are slowly gaining ground against Luke's forces. Though they were outnumbered, Luke's forces were outmatched. Pokémon from both sides were falling left and right, though Tobias' forces converged on their injured allies and protected them from further harm.

"Keep fighting!" Tobias shouted as he hit a Pangoro with a drain punch, effectively knocking out the Pangoro and healing himself.

A Fearow attempted to dive bomb the guild master with a drill peck, but was hit by a thunderbolt sent by Officer Magnezone. Alistair was standing over an ally while protecting them from a Simisage, a Quagsire, and a Gogoat at the same time, keeping them at bay with a bone rush. Team Odd Squad and Sunflare had joined forces and were currently taking enemies left and right.

"There's no end to these guys!" Collin shouted as he used sky uppercut on an Aerodactyl.

"Stop complaining and keep fighting!" John said as he fought off a Scrafty.

"Watch your six!" Jessie shouted, hitting a Grotle, that was attempting to sneaking up on John, with a poison jab.

"Thanks" John said.

"No prob," Jessie said as he fired a poison sting attack at a Fletchinder.

"I'm getting tired," Davis complained as he dodged a stone edge sent by a Rhydon. He then presided to fire an aura sphere at the drill Pokémon.

"Stop complaining and keep fighting," Alex said as he unleashed a powerful flamethrower at a group of Beedrill. He was then forced to duck when a hydro pump shot over his head and hit a Golbat out of the sky. The Ninetales turned and glared at Kimberly who had fired the attack. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry," Kimberly as she hit a Krookodile with an ice punch.

"I Team Stardust is okay," Michaela said as she fired an ice beam at a group of outlaws.

"I'm sure there fine," Katerina said as she sent several Pokémon flying with a night daze. "Guildmaster Gallade wouldn't have given them the task of infiltrating the tower if he didn't think that they could handle it."

"Katerina's right," Garfield said, though he was still worried about his brother. "We need to have faith in them.

"But couldn't some of us break through and infiltrate the tower to help them?" Max questioned. "We've taken out multiple outlaws, so some of us could get in the tower without being missed out here."

"True, but you would still have to break through enemy lines to get to the tower," Garfield said.

At that moment Tyler fired a flash canon at an Onix, causing it to fall on top of several outlaws. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked. "Let's go! They could be in trouble!"

"You guys go," Garfield said while stopping a hyper beam with a thunder attack. "We'll hold the line here!"

Team Sunflare nodded and made their way towards the tower, taking out any outlaws that got in their way.

**Tower F14**

"Hold still so I can burn you!" Magma shouted as he another flamethrower at Blitz and Bertha, who rolled out of the way.

Blitz then retaliated by unleashing a powerful thunderbolt at Magma who was forced to jump to the side to avoid it. Bertha attempted to use this opportunity to get in close and hit him with a bone club, but Magma turned and nailed her with a fire punch.

Bertha landed on her side and skidded across the ground, her bone clattering on the ground a few feet away. Magma went to finish her off, but a thunderbolt hit the ground right in front of him. He turned and was hit in the face with an iron tail.

"GAH!" Magma shouted, stumbling back in pain. "Damn you! I will burn you until not even your ashes remain!"

Blitz was then forced to leap back when Magma made a crater in the ground when he attempted to crush him with a fire punch. Blitz took this opportunity to launch a thunderbolt at the Magmortar. Magma gave a shout of pain before firing a flamethrower directly at Blitz, who could not avoid it this time.

"AHH!" Blitz shouted as he felt the heat of the flames hit his body. When the attack finally ended, Blitz managed to remain on his feet, though he was gasping. Then all of a sudden flames engulfed his body, causing Blitz to scream again. When the flames dissipated, Blitz fell to one knee. "Dammit," he cursed. "I'm burned."

"Too bad for you," Magma said as he advanced towards Blitz. "It looks like this is the end of you."

"That's what you think," Blitz said with a smirk before he fired a thunderbolt to Magma's right.

"HA!" Magma laughed, seeing the attack miss him. "You missed by a mile!"

"That's because I wasn't aiming for you," Blitz said, his smirk still intact .

At this Magma turned just in time to see Bertha running at him, her bone coated in electricity. She then slammed her electrified bone into the side of Magma's head, releasing the electricity trapped in the bone and sent the Magmortar flying into a pillar. However, to Bertha and Blitz's dismay, Magma got to his feet, though he got up slowly.

"How clever," Magma said. "Firing a thunderbolt at your friend knowing that your attack would be absorbed by the bone, thus electrifying it. Such a move could easily knock out a lesser Pokémon. However," Magma raised his arms above his head. "That's not enough to beat me!"

At this, he fired a massive blast of fire and smoke from his arms. He then brought his arms down causing the fire to shoot at the duo in the form of a giant wave of fire. Having nowhere to go, Bertha and Blitz were hit by the wave of fire.

"GAAH!" they shouted as the flames hit them. When the flames ended both Bertha and Blitz were on their knees, breathing hard.

"How'd you like my lava plume attack?" Magma asked smugly.

"Not... a... huge fan," Blitz said in between breaths.

"Aww. Really?" Magma asked in mock concern. "Well, maybe you'll like it more the second time around!" He then raised his arms again in preparation for another lava plume.

"This isn't good," Bertha said through clenched teeth.

**Tower F15**

Scorpio swerved in the air to avoid a dragon pulse sent his way by Drake. He was then forced to bring up his arms to defend against a fury cutter from Blade. "I gotta say, you two aren't half bad. However," Scorpio said before he pushed Blade away with a x-scissor. Before Blade could recover, Scorpio used iron tail and slammed Blade to the ground. "But you're not good enough," he finished.

Drake responded by jumping at Scorpio and attempting to hit him with an aerial ace. However, Scorpio saw the attack from the corner of his eye and dodged the attack and hit him in the back with a x-scissor attack. As Drake was falling to the ground, Scorpio flew after and tried to use fire fang on him, but Blade recovered and slammed into Scorpio with a quick attack.

Scorpio growled in frustration and charged at Blade with an acrobatics attack. Blade swerved madly to avoid the attack and lashed out at Scorpio with his own x-scissor attack and landed a hit on Scorpio's back. The force of the attack caused Scorpio to plummet towards the ground, but at the last second his tail shot out, breaking his fall. Using the momentum from the fall, Scorpio pushed off the ground and hit a surprised Blade with an acrobatics attack, this time hitting the Scyther.

Blade felt the air leave his lungs from the force of the attack and was sent crashing into the wall. Taking advantage of Blade's position, Scorpio flew forward and sent Blade to the ground with a vicious iron tail. Blade hit the ground and tried to get up, but Scorpio jumped on him and bit him on the shoulder with a fire fang.

"GAH!" Blade screamed as he felt Scorpio's burning teeth pierce through his exoskeleton and hit his flesh. He shook his body vigorously in hopes of dislodging the fang scorpion Pokémon, but Scorpio held firm. Blade continued to scream as Scorpio's teeth went deeper in his flesh. Blade was then spared from the pain when Drake slammed into Scorpio with an aerial ace, causing Scorpio to lose his grip. "Thanks Drake."

"Don't mention it," Drake said, offering his brother a claw.

"Damn this guy's tough," Blade grunted as Drake helped him to his feet. "If this keeps up, we'll lose for sure. I hope the others are having an easier time."

**Tower F16**

Venom gracefully dodged another shadow ball from Jackson using his keen eyesight. While Zubat use echolocation to maneuver around without crashing into things, Golbat and Crobat have eyes that work in the light and dark.

"Come now," Venom taunted as he dodged a dark pulse. "You can't expect to hit me with such slow attacks!"

Jackson growled as he fired another shadow ball at the elusive Crobat. Over the course of the battle, he has not been able to land a single hit on the bat Pokémon whilst Venom had landed several hits on him.

_This is getting ridiculous!_ Jackson thought as his eyes tried to follow Venom's movements. _This guy's just too fast! I can't even follow his movements long enough to use psychic!_ Jackson gave a cry of pain when what looked like purple electricity and purple bubbles came out of his body. _And on top f that I'm poisoned!_

"Looks like my poison is getting to you," Venom noted as he kept moving as to keep Jackson from using psychic. "I could just wait for you to pass out by yourself, but where's the fun in that?"

Without warning, Venom dive bombed Jackson and hit him with a steel wing. The force of the attack sent Jackson skidding across the ground. Jackson tried to get back to his feet, but Venom swooped down and struck him with a cross poison attack.

"AHH!" Jackson shouted as he was sent into a stalagmite. He hit the stalagmite with a loud thud and fell to the ground, not moving.

"Well," Venom said. "I guess that's that."

**Tower F17**

"Ugh," Grace grumbled as she she glared at Tiny. She was currently holding her right arm which was bleeding. Earlier Tiny had shot a dark pulse at Grace. While the attack did not do much damage, it was enough to catch Grace off guard. Tiny capitalized on this and dashed forward with a fire fang, which pierced Grace's steel tough skin. Grace managed to wrench her arm out of Tiny's mouth by hitting him with a close range fairy wind, but the damage was done.

"You taste good!" Tiny said as he licked Grace's blood off his teeth. "I will enjoy eating you!"

"Not gonna happen pea brain!" Grace shouted in defiance.

Tiny gained a tick mark on his head. "I NO HAVE PEA BRAIN!" he shouted. "YOU PAY FOR THAT!"

Tiny gave a roar and charged at Grace. Grace jumped to the side to avoid a fire fang attack and retaliated by using a crunch attack on Tiny's leg. Tiny gave a roar of pain before lashing out with a dragon tail. While the attack did no damage to Grace, the force behind the attack was enough to send Grace flying into a wall.

Grace recovered quickly and charged at Tiny with an iron head. Tiny gave a roar of pain as he fell to his side due to the impact of the attack, but quickly recovered and got to his feet. With a roar of outrage and dashed at Grace, his whole body coated in a whitish-blue aura. Grace had no time to react and was hit dead on by the attack. Tiny kept moving even after he hit Grace and slammed into a wall, with being crushed between him and the wall.

Tiny stepped away from the crater he left in the wall and saw to his delight that Grace was embedded in the wall. "Yay! Prey not moving!" Tiny said. "Now Tiny eat."

**Tower F19**

"Dammit!" Cecil shouted as she was hit in the back by another thunder punch. This 'game' had been going on for the past five minutes and Cecil was sick and tired of it.

"Awww. Are you not having fun?" Jojo asked jokingly, appearing to Cecil's right, laying down on his side with one hand behind his head in a relaxed manor.

"Bastard!" Cecil growled out, firing an aura sphere at the Mr. Mime, who promptly teleported away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Jojo said as he appeared on the head of the Dragonite doll. "You said a bad word. I will have to punish you."

Jojo then shot a psybeam attack from his eyes. Cecil jumped to the side and hid behind one of the giant balls to avoid the multicolored beams.

_Damn. This isn't working, _Cecil thought as she hid from the crazy mime Pokémon. _I need to think of something quick before-_

"Who are we hiding from?" Cecil turned and saw Jojo standing an inch from her, a childish grin on his face that sent chills down Cecil's spine. Cecil tried to slash at Jojo with a metal claw, but Jojo teleported out of the way, reappearing a few yards away. "Oooo. You almost got me with that one."

_I need to think of something, _Cecil thought as she desperately racked her brain trying to think of a plan. _I need figure out a way to track this guy while he's teleporting. Wait... DJ talked about facing someone similar to this. What'd he do to counter that... that's right! He used his aura sight! But I don't know how to do that..._

"Why are you just standing there?" Jojo asked. "Come on. Move. You're boring me!" When Cecil still did not move Jojo sighed, then gained a sadistic look on his face. "Well if you won't play with me..." Jojo used psychic and pulled a life size Riolu doll towards him and caught it. "...then maybe I could play with your brother."

At this, Cecil's eyes narrowed at the Mr. Mime. Seeing this, Jojo's smirk widened. "Yes. He would be a wonderful toy," he said as he stroked the doll. "I would play with him and play with him until he broke!" As he said this, Jojo used psychic on the doll and tore it apart.

Cecil felt her blood boil at this. She wanted to run at the Mr. Mime and make him suffer for threatening her little brother, but she knew that was what he wanted. _Just calm down Cecil,_ she thought to herself as she forced herself to calm down. _Just remember what DJ said about the aura sight. Focus on where you want to see, visualize it, and feel around for it with your aura!_

"Well if you won't move, I guess I have to kill you then move on to your brother," Jojo said sinisterly before teleporting away.

_Calm yourself,_ Cecil thought to herself as she closed her eyes. _Focus. Focus... Got it!_

Cecil turned on the ball of her foot and thrust her paw forward right as Jojo appeared. Jojo's eyes widened in shock when he felt Cecil's paw hit his stomach.

"Got ya," Cecil said before using force palm, sending Jojo flying into the far wall. Jojo got to his feet holding his stomach and gave Cecil a surprised look. Cecil smirked , her eyes still closed. "Sorry, but you're little trick won't work on me anymore."

**Tower F20**

"Leaf, look out!" Katara said. Leaf looked up just in time to dodge and ice beam.

"You can't dodge me forever!" Triteia shouted as she fired another ice beam at Leaf.

Leaf dodged the ice beam and fired a barrage of seeds at Triteia. Triteia merely crossed her flippers in front of her and blocked the attack. She was then hit from behind by a water pulse sent by Katara.

Katara and Leaf had been attacking relentlessly, but their attacks have done little to no damage to the Empoleon. They have taken a few hits themselves, but they managed to dodge the majority of her attacks.

"You two are pathetic," Triteia said. "I'll end you two quickly then help Master Luke."

With that, Triteia leapt at them and glided towards them, her flippers glowing silver. Seeing the attack, Leaf and Katara jumped in the air to avoid the attack. However, it was all for naught, because spun around so that her back was facing the ground and launched a hydro cannon at Katara who had no way to dodge.

The force of the attack sent Katara into the ceiling, where she stayed stuck for a few seconds before she fell onto on of the platforms, cracking the stone. Triteia smirked and moved towards Katara, but Leaf intercepted her. Leaf jumped in the air and slammed his tail into her face, causing her head to turn slightly.

Triteia looked at Leaf with a look that said 'really?' and hit Leaf with a steel wing, sending him across the room. Leaf landed on one of the platforms and before he could get up, Triteia hit him with an ice beam, freezing him to the platform. Triteia then jumped high in the air and began to spin like a top, her beak elongating and glowing. The spinning Empoleon then dive bombed the trapped Treecko and slammed into him with enough force to utterly destroy the platform and send Leaf sinking to the bottom of the pool.

"LEAF!" Katara shouted as she stared in horror as Leaf sank to the bottom. She then dived into the water in an attempt to save her teammate, but Triteia shot up from the bottom of the pool with another drill peck and sent Katara shooting out of the water and unto a platform.

"Like I said," Triteia said, jumping out of the water and landing on the platform across from Katara, who was clutching her stomach. "Pathetic."

"Damn you," Katara said. She tried to dive into the water to save Leaf, but Triteia froze the water in front of her, keeping her from diving into the water. "Stop interfering! I have to help him!"

"You'd just be wasting your time," the Empoleon said, shrugging her shoulders. "You'd just be delaying his fate. But don't worry, you'll be sharing his fate."

Katara growled before expelling a cloud of smoke in an attempt to blind Triteia and save her friend. "Not this time!" Triteia shouted as she shot out a hydro cannon that cut through the smoke and hit Katara, sending her to the edge of the pool. "That trick won't work a second time."

Katara glared at the Empoleon, angry that she was keeping her from saving her friend. "Get out of my way," Katara growled.

"Not happening kid," Triteia said smugly.

"I said..." Katara said angrily. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Katara's whole body then glowed bright blue, surprising Triteia. Katara's body then began to stretch out, her arms and legs becoming longer and what looked like a scarf formed around her neck. The light then died down, revealing that Katara had evolved into a Frogadier.

Before Triteia could react, Katara jumped at her at speeds that dwarfed her previous speed. Her hands then turned into long glowing blue knives and she used them to slash at Triteia. Though the aerial ace did little damage to Triteia it did cause her to fall backwards.

Using this opportunity, Katara dove into the water and swam to Leaf's prone form. Grabbing him, Katara swam to the surface at startling speeds. She burst out of the water, with Leaf in her arms, and landed on the edge of the pool. Katara gently set Leaf on the ground and glared at Triteia.

"You're going to pay for hurting my friend," Katara said with a glare.

**Tower F18**

The battlefield was littered with craters and rubble as the two former friends battled for dominance. Not even the ceiling was spared from these two fighters. All over the ceiling there were cracks and holes where stray attacks had impacted. It looked as if the portions ceiling could collapse at a moments notice.

Asura leapt in the air to avoid a hydro pump and retaliated by unleashing a hidden power attack. Jet jumped to the side to avoid the green orbs, but could do nothing defend against the psyshock that Asura shot at him right after he used hidden power.

Seeing Jet get hit, Asura ran forward and attempted to hit Jet with a thunder punch, but Jet saw him approach and shot into the air with aqua jet to avoid the attack. Jet then changed his direction in midair and nailed Asura in the back.

Asura stumbled forward but pivoted on his foot swung around with a low sweep. The kick hit Jet in the side, but Jet remained standing and lashed out with an ice punch aimed at Asura's face. Asura managed to lean back enough so the attack sailed over his head and fired a close range psyshock at Jet. As soon as the attack made contact with Jet, it exploded, sending Jet flying back.

As Jet was sailing back, Jet flipped in the air and landed on his feet. Using the momentum from the fall, Jet pushed off the ground and dashed towards Asura and used another ice punch. Asura tried to jump to the side, but Jet grabbed his arm with his other hand and held him in place. He then preceded to punch Asura in the face several times before tossing him away.

Asura hit the ground with a grunt. He slowly got to his feet and brushed the ice, that had formed after the multiple ice punches, off his face.

"Why do you keep back getting up?!" Jet shouted, enraged to see Asura getting up. "Just give up! You have no hope of beating me and the rest of your team will fall as well!" Asura then started to chuckle lightly before it evolved to full blown laughter. "What's so funny?!" Jet growled as he glared at the laughing Meditite.

Asura forced himself to calm down, wiping away a stray tear. "If you really think that we'll give up just because we're outmatched than you have truly forgotten what Team Stardust stands for."

"What was that?" Jet growled out threateningly.

"When we formed the Team we always said that we would never back down from a fight, no matter what," Asura leveled a glare at Jet. "And that is why... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

**Tower F14**

"Looks like this is the end of us," Blitz said with a pained smile, trying to make light of the situation.

"Shut up Blitz," Bertha grumbled as she stared at Magma building up his attack.

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

"Did you hear that?" Blitz asked.

"Yeah, I did," Bertha said. "It sounded like Asura."

"Well whatever it was, the voice is right," Blitz said, shakily getting to his feet.

"Right, because we're Team Stardust, and we'll never quit," Bertha said, getting to her feet as well.

"A beautiful speech, but your words mean nothing," Magma said. "A few words won't change the fact that you can't beat me! Now hold still and die!"

"We need to think of something and fast," Bertha said.

"I have an idea," Blitz said, "Then I think it's time for Operation Rolling Thunder."

"Are you sure?" Bertha asked, as she eyed Magma, who was about to unleash another lava plume.

"We don't have much choice seeing as he's about to launch another attack," Blitz commented.

"Fine," Bertha said.

"NOW BURN!" Magma shouted, unleashing another lava plume that was even greater than the previous one.

"GO!" Blitz shouted as he and Bertha jumped in the air.

As soon as Blitz and Bertha reached the peak of their jump, Blitz curled into a ball and Bertha hit him with her bone, sending him flying towards the approaching wall of flames. Blitz then began to roll in the air as he got closer to the flames. His tail then glowed silver and his body was engulfed in electricity, becoming a glowing ball of lightning. The combination of iron tail and volt tackle hit the wall of flames and cut through the flames. Magma had no time to react before he was hit dead on by the attack. The power of the combo caused an explosion to engulf the two Pokémon. When the smoke and dust disappeared, Magma was on his back, unconscious, and Blitz was still standing.

"That... wasn't... so tough," Blitz gasped out. Electricity then shot through his body, indicating that he was feeling the recoil from using volt tackle. On top of that, fire engulfed his body again as he felt the effects of his burn. The combined effects caused Blitz to fall face first into the ground.

"BLTIZ!" Bertha shouted as she ran towards downed electric mouse.

**Tower F15**

"This is getting boring," Scorpio said as he watched the duo struggle to get to their feet. "You two should just give up. Your deaths will be quicker that way."

"This is bad," Blade said to his brother. "We've barely done any damage to this guy."

"We can't give up," Drake said, struggling to get up.

"But what's the point?" Blade said depressedly. "We can't possibly beat this guy. Maybe we should just give up..."

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

"Did you here that?" Blade asked.

"I did," Drake said. "It sounded like Asura."

"I think it was him," Blade. "And he's right. We can't give up now. I don't know what I was thinking."

"That doesn't matter now," Drake said, getting to his feet and offering a claw to Blade. "Right now we have to finish this battle and help the team."

"Right," Blade said, placing a blade on Drake's claw and allowing his brother to pull him up. "Then let's do this brother!" Drake gave a nod and the two siblings charged the Gliscor.

"So you two still want to fight, huh?" Scorpio said, rising in the air. "The so be it. While I do admire your tenacity, you're just making things harder on yourselves."

Scorpio dove at the duo and Blade flew up to meet him, both using x-scissor. The two met and clashed against each other, each one trying to gain the upper hand. Their stalemate was broken when Drake hit Scorpio in the back with a dragon pulse, allowing Blade to push Scorpio to the ground.

As Scorpio fell to the ground, Drake flew at him with aerial ace, but at the last second Scorpio recovered and avoided the attack. Scorpio flew towards Drake and attempted to hit him with an iron tail, but Blade hit him with a quick attack, forcing the Gliscor to drop his attack. Scorpio turned to glare at Blade, but Blade was no longer there. He was then sent hurtling towards the ground by a fury cutter attack to his back.

Scorpio hit the ground hard and before he could get up the earth cracked underneath him and Drake shot out of the ground, using a dig and dragon claw combo. The force of the attack sent Scorpio soaring into the air, but he extended his wings and stopped his ascent. He then dive bombed Drake using used x-scissor. Drake countered this attack by using dragon claw, blocking the attack and forcing Scorpio into a stalemate.

Scorpio growled lowly, shocked and annoyed that the two Pokémon, that seemed so weak a few minuted ago, had, in the course of five minuted inflicted a massive amount of damage on him. _It's impossible!_ Scorpio thought as he continued to apply pressure against Drake's claws. _These two couldn't stand up to me before! What changed?!_

Drake grunted in effort and the force that Scorpio applied to his arms pushed him to one knee. Thinking that he was over powering the Gabite, Scorpio grinned sinisterly and applied more force. Drake grunted in pain as he was pushed further into the ground, but though his muscles were screaming in protest, he kept pushing back. With a loud shout Drake put his remaining strength into his arms and with a final push, he sent a surprised Scorpio into the air. Blade then swooped down and slammed into him with another quick attack. As Scorpio tumbled through the air, Blade used air slash, sending multiple saw disks of winds at the Gliscor.

Scorpio, for the first time during the battle, gave a cry of pain as the saws rained down on him. When the attack finally let up, Scorpio hit the ground again and was struggling to get up. Seeing this, Drake and Blade struck as one, hitting with dragon claws, fury cutters, aerial aces, and air slashes, until the fang scorpion Pokémon could no longer take anymore.

"H-How?" Scorpio said weakly once the attacks stopped. "How did a couple of brats beat me...?" Without another word, Scorpio slumped over and fell into unconsciousness.

"We... did it... brother," Blade gasped out, exhausted from the fight. "We... need to go... help the others."

Blade tried to walk forward but fell to one knee. When he tried to get back up, Drake placed a claw on his shoulder. "Let go Drake," Blade said. "We have to help the others."

"We are in no condition to fight another fight," Drake said. "We would only get in the others way. We are no use to them in this state. We need to rest before we rush off."

Blade begrudgingly agreed and both brothers tried to regain their strength before moving on to assist their teammates.

**Tower F16**

"Such a disappointment," Venom sighed, gazing at Jackson's unmoving body. "Ah well," he said as he turned and began to fly towards the stairs. "It can't be helped."

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

"What the hell was that?" Venom asked himself. Before he could contemplate about what the sound was a bright light shone through the darkness. Venom swiveled in the air towards the source of the light and saw that it was coming from Jackson. The light was so bright that Venom had to close his eyes. When the light finally died out Venom opened his eyes and saw that Jackson was standing. "What the hell?!" Venom shrieked. "How are you standing."

"The power of the moon will always heal its followers," Jackson said.

"... What?" Venom said, utterly confused.

"It doesn't matter," Jackson said. "What matters is that Asura is right. Team Stardust doesn't quit. So I'm taking you down, no matter the cost!"

At this, Venom burst out laughing. "Really?" Venom laughed. "You're going to beat me? Ha! You couldn't land a single hit on me before! What makes you think that you'll be able to hit me this time?"

"Because," Jackson said with a sly smirk. "You're not moving around now."

Venom did not understand what Jackson was talking about at first. Then his eyes widened in realization and fear. He attempted to fly away, but Jackson had already caught him with psychic.

"Gotcha," Jackson smirked.

"Release me!" Venom shouted as he tried to break free of Jackson's psychic.

"As you wish," Jackson said before sending Venom crashing into a wall.

Venom hit the wall hard, but before he could fly away, he was hit by a powerful dark pulse. Venom began to fall from the wall, but Jackson caught him in another psychic and preceded to toss him like a rag doll. Venom was slammed into stalactites, the ground, stalagmites, the walls, and even the ceiling. When Jackson finally let up, Venom was barely able to fly.

"Miserable brat," Venom growled. "You'll pay for your insolence!"

Venom charged at Jackson and attempted to use acrobatics and hit Jackson, but he was moving at a much slower pace, allowing Jackson to track his movements. Venom attempted land a hit, but before he could land the hit Jackson leapt into the air, flipped, and shot Venom with a barrage of shadow balls.

Venom screeched in pain as he felt each shadow ball hit him. Each shadow ball exploded upon impact, stirring up dust and debris, engulfing the Crobat in a cloak of smoke, not that you could see it in the darkness of the room. When the smoke cleared, Venom was laying on his stomach, swirls in his eyes.

"I did it," Jackson sighed in relief. Jackson turned and moved towards the staircase, but as soon as he took one step, the poison racked through his body, causing him to collapse. "Dammit," Jackson groaned out, barely holding on to consciousness. "Sorry guys, but it looks like I'll be out of commission for awhile."

With that, Jackson succumbed to unconsciousness and slumped over.

**Tower F17**

Tiny laughed gleefully, as he approached his next 'meal'. Grace could only watch in horror as the Tyrantrum got closer._ Damn,_ she thought. _I can't believe this is how it ends for me. Sorry guys, but it looks like... I'm done for._

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

_Asura?!_ Grace shouted in her mind. Hearing his voice filled her with determination. _What am I doing?! I can't go out like this! The others are counting on me! I refuse to let this be the end!_

Tiny was now directly in front of Grace. He leaned forward and attempted to bite Grace, but before his teeth mad contact, Grace hit him in the face with a powerful fairy wind.

"RAAH!" Tiny shouted as he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the pain that Grace's attack inflicted upon him.

Grace then wrenched herself from the wall and landed on her feet. She then gave the thrashing Tyrantrum a glare that if looks could kill, Tiny would be dead ten times over. When Tiny finally stopped shaking his head, he saw Grace glaring at him, and a flash of fear passed through his eyes before he returned the glare.

"You hurt Tiny!" Tiny roared as he charged towards Grace, his teeth catching fire. "Tiny make you pay!"

Just as Tiny was about to use fire fang, Grace rolled to the left, causing Tiny to crash into the wall. Tiny pulled his head out of the wall and fixed Grace with a glare, but before he could say anything, Grace fired a flash canon at him.

When the attack made contact with Tiny, there was an explosion and Tiny roared in pain. Tiny then swung his tail and struck Grace with a dragon tail. For the second time, Grace was sent flying into the opposite wall from the force behind the attack, though the attack itself did nothing.

Grace grunted in pain as she got to her feet again. Tiny roared and charged up another head smash and shot at Grace. Seeing this, Grace used iron head and met Tiny half way. When the two attack collided, there was a huge explosion that blanketed the whole room with smoke. When the smoke cleared both Tiny and Grace were standing, glaring at each other. A whole minute passed and neither moved. Then Tiny fell over and lost consciousness.

"I won," Grace sighed in relief, dropping to her knees to catch his breath. She sat there for a few seconds before getting to her feet and walking slowly to the stairs. "Don't worry guys. I'm coming."

**Tower F19**

_This is tough, _Cecil thought, her breathing labored. Even though she had figured out a way around Jojo's teleporting tactic, the Mr, Mime was still a tough opponent. After ruining Jojo's original tactic, Jojo took to using psychic and tossing the contents of the room at Cecil, distracting her long enough to land a hit on her. _This is getting seriously annoying! _Cecil thought as she batted away another doll. _At this rate, it's only a matter of time before..._

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

_Was that that Meditite? What was his name again? Ash? No. Osha? No. Asura? Yeah, that's it! Well whatever the case, he's right. Even though I'm not an official member, I can't afford to lose here. I have to win this fight and help my brother!_

"Ready to give up?" Jojo asked smugly, multiple dolls circling his head, ready to fly at Cecil at a moments notice.

"Not in your life!" Cecil shouted in defiance.

"So be it," Jojo said in a carefree tone before launching the dolls at Cecil.

Using extreme speed, Cecil gracefully dodged the dolls and ran at Jojo. She was about to hit him with a force palm when Jojo teleported away again. Using her newly discovered aura sense, Cecil tracked Jojo's teleportation path and turned to her left and fired an aura sphere at him. Just as Jojo appeared, he was hit by the glowing sphere and sent sliding across the ground.

_Now's my chance!_ Cecil thought as she charged towards the downed Mr. Mime with extreme speed. Seeing her closing in at an alarming rate, Jojo panicked and launched everything in the room, including the giant Dragonite doll, at Cecil.

Using her natural agility, and dodged, deflected, and even jumped off of the items sent her way. With a large leap, Cecil jumped over the final doll and fell towards a scared Jojo. As she fell she used force palm, using the gravity to increase her attacks power.

Jojo was too surprised to teleport away and was hit by the attack. Jojo gasped as the air was forcibly removed from his lungs as the ground around him cracked under the force of the attack. Finally coming to his senses, Jojo teleported away before Cecil use the full force of her attack.

Cecil smirked, turning to her left, seeing Jojo appear, clutching his stomach and glaring at Cecil. "What's wrong?" Cecil mocked. "Not having fun?"

At this Jojo's face turned red with rage. "HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!" he yelled. "NOBODY MOCKS ME!"

Blinded by rage, Jojo ran forward with a thunder punch. Jojo reached Cecil and tried to hit her, but Cecil merely sidestepped and hit him with another force palm, sending him skidding to the other side of the room, hitting one of the balls and bouncing off of it. As Jojo struggled to his feet Cecil dashed forward, using metal claw and extreme speed at once.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Cecil shouted as she ran past Jojo, slashing him as she went by.

Cecil stood there unmoving, her arms still extended and her back facing Jojo. The two stood still for a split second before Jojo fell to the ground face first. Cecil had one.

Hearing the thud of Jojo hitting the ground, Cecil smiled to herself. "I win," she said. She then attempted to walk towards the staircase, but gasped in pain, falling to one knee. "Dammit. That fight took more out of me than I thought. But I have to help DJ." She tried to get up again, but fell right back down. "Damn. It looks like your going to have to hang on a little longer DJ."

**Tower F20**

Katara grunted as she was forced to dodge another drill peck from Triteia. Despite her recent evolution, she was still at a huge disadvantage. With her new enhanced speed she had landed hit after hit on the emperor Pokémon, but the attacks barely did anything.

"Just give up already!" an annoyed Triteia said. "Even with your evolution you can't beat me! Just give up and save yourself the embarrassment."

Katara clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists. _Don't let her get to you Katara, _she said to herself. _I can beat her I just need to think of something..._

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

_Asura?! _Katara thought with wide eyes, shocked that she had heard his voice from here. Her eyes then narrowed in determination. _He's right! I can't give up now! I need to think of something._

Katara shifted her gaze to her left to this side of the pool where she left Leaf. However, instead of Leaf, there was a hole in the ground. Her eyes widened before her face turned stoic.

"That could work," she said to herself.

"Well?" Triteia asked smugly, thinking that Katara was going to give up. "You going to give up?"

"Not on your life!" Katara shouted in defiance, dashing towards the Empoleon with aerial ace.

"Fool," Triteia said and she blocked Katara's attack with steel wing.

The two continued to slash at each other with their attacks, glowing blue 'knives' against silver glowing flippers. The sound generated from the two clashing attacks sounded like metal swords clanging against each other. The arms of the two were blurs as each tried to strike the other.

_I've gotta get her to the edge of the pool, or this won't work, _Katara thought, her teeth clenched in concentration.

Unfortunately for Katara, Triteia got in a lucky hit, causing Katara to stumble back. Capitalizing on this, Triteia fired a close range hydro cannon at Katara. The force of the attack sent Katara soaring across the pool. Katara hit the ground on the side of the pool with a loud thud. Thinking that she could end this, Triteia glided towards Katara using steel wing, hoping to finish her off.

Just as Triteia was closing in, Katara smirked and rolled out of the way, just as the ground under her cracked and broke. Triteia's eyes widened as Leaf burst out of the ground and rammed into her, doing massive damage to the steel/water type. Triteia gasped out in pain as she was sent towards the ceiling from the force from the attack. Just as she was about to hit the ceiling Katara had leapt into the air above her and slashed her across the back with an aerial ace, sending her back towards the ground.

As the Empoleon fell back towards the earth, Katara mustered as much strength as she could and fired a giant water pulse at Triteia, hitting her and increasing the rate of her descent. Triteia hit one of the platforms in the pool and smashed through it in an explosion of water and rubble. After a few seconds, Triteia's unconscious form floated to the surface of the pool.

"We did it," Katara said to leaf happily. Leaf nodded and returned her smile before he fell forward and hit the ground. "Leaf!"

Katara rushed to his side and flipped him over, and saw that though he was still conscious he was still very weak. "Hang in there Leaf, you're going to be okay," she told him reassuringly.

"Go on without me," Leaf said, his voice strained. "Just leave me hear."

"That's not going to happen," Katara said angrily.

"Katara..."

"No! I'm not leaving a teammate!"

"Listen!" Leaf shouted. "Alpha needs your help more than I do. I would only get in the way. You need to go and help him."

"But..."

"Don't worry about me. I will be fine. Just go and help Alpha."

Katara's face was mixture of emotion as she warred with the idea of leaving yet another teammate behind. Finally she laid Leaf down carefully, and ran to the stairs. When she reached the stairs, she turned back to Leaf who gave a nod. Steeling her resolve, she dashed up the stairs.

_Don't worry DJ, _Katara thought to her self as she climbed the stairs. _I'll be there soon._

**Tower F18**

Just after Asura's exclamation, Jet just stared at Asura in shock. Surprised by the conviction in his voice. For a split second, Jet's eyes seemed to clear, as if a fog had been lifted from his eyes. Then, just as quick as it happened, his eyes returned to what they were and he sneered.

"Never give up huh?" Jet said snidely. "As I recall you also said that no one gets left behind. Yet, here I am."

"I keep telling you that we didn't leave you on purpose!" Asura said. "The whole cave was collapsing and when we tried to dig you out you were already gone!"

"Enough of your excuses!" Jet said. "Let's finish this once and for all!"

Before Asura could attempt to plead his case, Jet shot forward and launched an ice punch at him, forcing Asura to abandon his attempts at convincing Asura in favor of dodging. Asura responded by delivering a strong thunder punch to Jet's midsection, causing him to scream in pain as electricity coursed through his body.

Jet then pushed him away by hitting him with a hydro pump at point blank range, sending him to the other side of the room. Asura quickly got to his feet and fired a psyshock at Jet. Seeing the attack, Jet managed to back hand the attack, sending it towards the ceiling, where it exploded, doing even more damage to the ceiling.

"You need to stop this Jet!" Asura shouted in a final attempt to snap his friend out of whatever was controlling him. "We are friends Jet. We shouldn't be fighting!"

"We were friends!" Jet shouted, his eyes flashing with anger. "Our friendship died when you abandoned me in that cave!"

"We didn't-" Asura began to say until he happened to glance at the ceiling. The area that the rogue psyshock at hit was already damaged before it was hit with the attack and now cracks were spreading across the ceiling. Without warning a big chunk of the ceiling broke away and fell towards Jet. "JET!" Asura yelled. "LOOK OUT!"

Jet looked up and gasped when he saw chunks of earth falling towards him. Jet had no time to react as the rocks hit smashed into the ground, stirring up dust and cutting off visibility. The dust slowly began to dissipate and Jet could be seen sitting and staring at the mound of rock that had fallen.

"Why?" Jet asked staring at the mound. "Why would you push me out of the way?!"

The smoke completely cleared and revealed Asura laying on the ground, his right leg pinned under the rocks. Asura lifted himself up the best he could with his leg pinned and looked at Jet with a pained looks.

"Because you're my best friend," Asura said, gaining wide eyes from Jet. "You were always there for me when I needed you and I took that for granted. Before I met you I was a jerk. I thought everyone was beneath me because my father was a guild master of the Gallade Guild. But when I met you that all changed.

**Flashback:**

A young Asura walked through the outskirts of Miracle Town, and air of arrogance surrounding him. As he walked he observed the Pokémon around him and sneered. They were nothing but weaklings compared to him. He was broken out of his musings when a childish voice called out to him.

"Hey, you!" Asura turned and saw a young Buizel, about his age, running towards him. When he finally got to Asura he gave him a bright smile. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"My name is none of your concern," Asura said rudely.

"Well excuuuuuse me!" the Buizel said indignantly. "I was trying to be friendly!"

"I don't make friends with commoners," Asura said.

"What'd you call me?!" the Buizel shouted.

"I called you a commoner," Asura repeated.

"What gives you the right to call me that?!"

"The fact that my father is the guild master of the Gallade Guild," Asura said.

The Buizel gasped in surprise. "You're the Master Gallade's son?!" he asked in surprise.

"That's right," Asura said smugly, thinking that the Buizel would back down. He was, however, surprised when he was hit in the face with a water gun.

"JUST BECAUSE YOUR THE GUILD MASTER'S SON DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE A JERK TO EVERYONE!" the Buizel shouted.

Asura was shocked into silence, nobody had ever back talked him before. His shock then gave way to rage. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!" he shouted in outrage. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

"BRING IT ON!" the Buizel shouted, leaping at Asura.

**Ten minutes later**

Both Asura and the Buizel were laying on their backs across from each other. The ground around them cracked and distorted from their fight. Both had satisfied looks on their faces even though they are breathing hard.

"You're pretty good," Asura said with a smirk.

"You too," Jet said. "Anyway, my name's Jet."

"I don't recall asking for your name," Asura said.

"Aw lighten up a little," the now identified Jet pouted.

"... Asura,"Asura said.

"Huh?" Jet asked, turning to look at Asura.

"My name," Asura clarified. "It's Asura."

Jet looked at him in shock before his face split into a large smile, earning a small smile from Asura.

**Flashback end**

"You brought me out of that mindset and showed me that and for that, I am forever grateful." Tears began to form in Asura's eyes. "You did all of that for me and I left you when you needed me. I can understand your hatred, but know this. You will always be my best and my first friend."

Jet was speechless at this claim. Here was the one who had supposedly left him for dead, crying and telling him that no matter what he was his friend. Jet clutched his head as if in pain and his eyes cleared again.

Jet's eyes widened as if just now realizing what he was doing. He then ran to Asura's side and, to Asura's surprise, began to remove the rocks from Asura's leg. When the rocks were removed, Jet helped Asura to his feet, taking care not to further injure Asura's leg.

"Can you stand," Jet asked.

"Y-Yeah," Asura said before wincing when he tried to walk. "Why did you help me?"

"Because, you're my friend," Jet said looking down in shame. "I don't know what came over me. It's like I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Asura said reassuringly. "You were under Scourge's control."

"I know, but sti-" whatever Jet was going to say never came. Jet gasped once before he fell forward.

"JET!" Asura shouted as he caught his friend, ignoring the pain that shot through his leg when more weight was put on his leg. "What's wrong?" He then felt something wet touch his hand when he touched Jet's back. He brought his hand up and saw that there was blood on his hand. Looking at Jet's back he saw some sort of stab wound in his back. "Wha-"

"It seems you were able to break my control over him," Asura looked up and saw a sight that made his blood boil. Floating in front of him was a Malamar with a bloody tentacle, indicating that he was the one that injured Jet. "Such a shame really. He was such a good puppet. Ah well. I'll just kill you for taking away my puppet."

"Scourge," Asura growled out.


	31. Chapter 31

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stardust**

**Chapter 31: Final Battle Part 3**

"You're going to pay for that Scourge!" Asura shouted in rage as he carefully set Jet on the ground.

"Oh?" Scourge asked mockingly. "And how are _you _going to make me pay for it?" he gestured to Asura's injured leg. "You can barely stand let alone fight."

"That doesn't matter," Asura said stubbornly. "You took my best friend from me, messed with his mind, made him fight me, and then you attack him! I"M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Whatever you say," Scourge said, raising his tendril like arms. "You're just going to make your death all the more painful." Without another word, Scourge shot a powerful psybeam at Asura.

Asura jumped to the side, using his good leg, and avoided the attack. Asura then used hidden power, knowing that psyshock would do nothing to a dark type like Scourge. Scourge merely scoffed at the attack and batted the green orbs away with a tendril.

"That's not the best you can do is it?" Scourge asked mockingly.

"You wish," Asura said before charging at the Malamar with thunder punch, however, due to his injury he was limping.

Scourge easily dodged the slow attack and slashed him across the back with night slash, eliciting a cry of pain from Asura. Asura quickly got over his pain and spun on his foot and nailed Scourge in the stomach with a thunder punch. Asura then continued his attack by swinging his good leg and used low sweep on the Malamar, wincing when all of his weight was put on his bad leg.

Scourge grunted in pain from the consecutive attacks, but was otherwise unaffected. In response to the attacks, Scourge his Asura with a close range psybeam. Asura was sent flying back and hit the ground, causing him to hiss in pain when his leg hit the ground. Scourge then unleashed a powerful flamethrower at Asura's downed form.

Seeing the attack, Asura rolled to the side to avoid it. Asura felt the heat from the attack on his face as the flamethrower impacted against the ground next to him. Asura got back to his feet, taking caution in not jostling his injured leg, and fired another hidden power at Scourge.

"ARGH!" Scourge shouted as the green spheres made contact with his body. "That hurt you little brat!"

Scourge then dashed at Asura and used peck. Asura shouted in pain from the attack, but fought through the pain and hit Scourge across the face with a thunder punch, causing Scourge to reel back. Scourge turned his head back to Asura and leveled a glare.

"Now I'm mad!" Scourge said, before he shot his tendril arm out and grabbed Asura's bad leg.

Asura cried out in pain when he was yanked off the ground by his injured leg. Scourge then began to slam Asura on the ground over and over again. Asura could do nothing but try to brace himself as he was slammed against the ground. Scourge then tossed the Meditite into the air like a rag doll. As Asura began to fall, Scourge hit him with a psybeam, creating an explosion and propelling Asura across the room, where he hit a wall before falling and hitting the ground.

"Pathetic," Scourge gloated as he casually floated to the downed Meditite. "You weren't worth the effort."

"Damn you..." Asura said as he tried to get up.

"Your still conscious?" Scourge asked, shocked that the Meditite was still up after taking so much damage. "Your a tenacious one, I'll give you that. But you're still no match for me."

"I won't give up," Asura said, still trying to get to his feet. "I won't give up until you pay for what you did to Jet."

"Oh, please," Scourge said, grabbing Asura by his injured foot again and tossing him towards Jet's downed form. Asura hit the ground and skidded to a stop next to Jet. "You can't possibly beat me. Especially with all of the damage you took. You're weak and I'll take great pleasure in killing you."

Asura again tried to get up, but collapsed back onto the ground.

"Then, after I'm done with you I'll finish off that Floatzel," Scourge continued.

At this, Asura became enraged. He grit his teeth as he pushed his body up on his forearms, glaring at the overturn Pokémon.

"Though I do need another puppet," Scourge continued, turning around while not paying any attention to Asura. "Maybe I'll hypnotize one of your other comrades."

Asura growled lowly, clenching his fists so hard that blood began to leek from his hands. He renewed his struggle to get to his feet, but Scourge appeared not to notice.

"Then again, your friends are probably dead by now. Maybe I can finish you two off quickly and go to one of the other floors and grab one before they're killed."

Asura managed to get to one knee, but was still struggling. He ignored the pain that was racking through his body. He refused to go down like this and leave his team to the mercy of this maniac.

"Which one should I pick?" Scourge asked himself, unaware of Asura getting to his feet. "Maybe that Gabite. Garchomp are usually strong. Or maybe that Riolu. Lucario can be strong as well..."

Asura's blood continued to boil as he listened to Scourge talk about his team as if he was a child picking out a toy. Asura forced himself onto his legs, but struggled to remain standing.

"Oh, I know! I'll take that Mawile!" Scourge said. "Yes, she's the one. Such beauty and grace. Yes, she'll make a fine puppet."

"I won't let you," Asura muttered, gaining Scourge's attention.

"What was that?" Scourge asked, turning to face Asura.

"I won't let you," Asura repeated. His head then snapped up and he glared at the Malamar. "I WON'T LET YOU HARM MY TEAM!"

Asura's body was then engulfed in a bright blue light that illuminated the whole room. Asura's body began to elongate, stretching out his body until he was a little shorter than Scourge. His ears shrunk back into his head and his helmet became more bulbous like with three bulb-like extensions coming from it, one on top and two on the side. When the light finally faded, where Asura once was, a Medicham stood in his place.

Scourge was shocked by Asura's sudden transformation, but replaced the shocked look on his face with a smug one. "You really think that an evolution will change anything?!" he asked smugly. "You are still injured! You have no hope of beating me!"

"We'll see," Asura said before firing a hidden power attack at Scourge.

Scourge sidestepped the glowing spheres and was about to fire a psybeam attack at the newly evolved Medicham, but he was stopped by a strong thunder punch to the face. Right after he had fired his hidden power, Asura, using his good leg, leapt towards Scourge, demonstrating his new jumping skills, while Scourge was distracted.

The Malamar was sent stumbling back from surprise and from the force of the attack. Scourge recovered and glared at Asura, his gaze full of hate. He then preceded to unleash a flamethrower at Asura, who was forced to leap into the air to avoid the stream of flames. Seeing Asura in the air, Scourge shot a psybeam at the airborne Medicham. Thinking quickly, Asura fired a psyshock to counter the approaching attack. The two attack collided causing an explosion that temporarily blinded Scourge.

Asura landed on his good leg and dashed forward towards the unsuspecting Malamar. When Scourge finally regained his vision he was forced to jump back from a thunder punch sent his way by Asura. He the dashed forward and delivered a powerful peck to Asura's midsection. Asura winced, but remained strong. Asura then him in the stomach with two consecutive thunder punches. He then fired a close range hidden power, peppering the Malamar with multiple green orbs.

Scourge hissed in pain as he was hit by the attacks. He clutched his stomach and glared at Asura. "You little brat," he said, his voice full of hate. "You'll pay for that one."

"Not before you pay for what you did to Jet," Asura countered.

Scourge growled and dashed forward, his right tendril glowing with purple energy. Scourge lashed out with night slash, aiming for Asura's bad leg in hopes to further injure the meditate Pokémon. However, Asura saw the attack and jumped back, causing Scourge's tendril to become embedded in the ground.

As Scourge struggled to pull his arm out of the ground, Asura took this time to leapt high in the air, his left knee glowing. He then landed in front of Scourge, surprising the Malamar, and using the momentum he gained from his descent and slammed his knee into Scourge's stomach, sending Scourge crashing into the opposite wall.

Scourge gasped harshly when he was impacted against the wall, forcing the air out of his lungs. The force that Scourge hit the wall with caused the wall to crack. Scourge slumped to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. He raised his head and looked at Asura with a look of fear and shock. That look was then erased from his face and was replaced by a look of hate.

"Don't think that you've one just yet," Scourge said as he struggled to his feet. "I won't lose to a brat like you." Asura remained silent and continued to glare at Scourge, further infuriating the Malamar. "DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE YOU'RE BETTER THAT ME! YOU ARE NOTHING!" Scourge shouted in anger. When Asura still did not respond, Scourge saw red and shot forward, his arm glowing purple.

Asura remained still as he watched Scourge approach. At the last second, Asura sidestepped the night slash and slammed an electrified fist into Scourge's stomach, sending electricity through Scourge's body. Asura then delivered a devastating electrified uppercut with enough strength to send Scourge into the air.

Before Scourge could hit the ceiling he stopped himself with his psychic power. He opened his eyes and stared in horror when he saw Asura leaping towards him, preparing another high jump kick. Before Scourge could react, Asura buried his knee into Scourge's gut, sending him crashing into the ceiling. The ceiling began to crack and crumble before the portion that Scourge impacted against gave way and fell to the ground, burying Scourge under the rubble.

Asura landed on the ground, wincing slightly when weight was put on his leg. He stared at the pile of rubble that covered the Malamar for a few seconds, making sure that Scourge did come bursting out of the rubble, before limping over to Jet. However, had he watched the pile of rubble for a few seconds longer he would have seen the rocks shift. Asura only had time to turn his head before a tendril shot out of the rubble and wrap around his neck.

"YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" Scourge shouted as he burst out of the rubble. He lifted Asura to eye level and tightened his grip on the young Medicham's throat. "I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY A BRAT. WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, YOUR GOING TO WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!" his face then broke into a sadistic grin. "And when I'm done with you I'll move on to your friends. First I'll torture them, make them scream in agony as I bring them closer and closer to death, until they're minds and bodies are broken! And only then will I end their miserable lives." Asura struggled furiously in Scourge's grasp, but Scourge just tightened his grip, cutting off Asura's air supply. Scourge's smile only grew as he watched Asura choke. He then raised his other tendril and prepared a night slash attack. "NOW DIE!"

Scourge then shot his tendril at Asura, determined to end his life. Right as Scourge's night slash was about to end Asura's life, a flash cannon hit Scourge in the back, causing him to drop Asura. Scourge stumbled forward and landed on one knee. He turned and was immediately hit by a fairy wind that sent him into a wall. Before he could react, he was then hit by an iron head which smashed him further into the wall and knocking him out.

When the silvery light disappeared from around Scourge's attacker, Asura saw that it was Grace. "Don't mess with Team Stardust," Grace spat hatefully to the unconscious Malamar before turning to Asura's prone form and rushing towards him, too worried to react to his evolution. "Asura, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Asura said, waving off his teammates concern. "Don't worry about me! Help Jet!"

Grace turned her head and her eyes widened when she saw Jet's bleeding form. She gave Asura a final look before rushing to Jet's side and began to treat his wounds. Asura got into a sitting position as he massaged his throat, watching Grace attempt to heal Jet. He then looked up at the broken ceiling.

_Hang in there everyone, _he thought. _I'll be there as soon as I can._

**Tower Pinnacle (While everyone else is fighting)**

"Gah!" DJ shouted as he was sent flying back. He managed to straighten himself in the air and landed in a crouch, glaring at Luke.

"Is this really the best that you can do?" Luke asked. "You seemed so much stronger when we first fought in the alley."

"Shut up!" DJ growled. "I haven't even begun to fight!"

"If that is indeed the case," Luke began, bending his legs slightly and bringing up his arms. "Then come at me with everything you've got!"

Not needing to be told twice, DJ rushed forward and sent a force palm towards Luke's midsection. Luke saw the attack and was able to sidestep DJ's attack and hit DJ with a force palm of his own. The attack pushed DJ back a few feet, but he remained standing and charged up and aura sphere. DJ then fired the glowing sphere at Luke, forcing him to jump to the side. As soon as he did, however, DJ, who had dashed forward after he launched his attack, had kicked him in the gut with a blaze kick.

Luke grunted in pain when he felt DJ's burning foot hit him and stumbled back. Seeing this, DJ attempted to capitalize on this by attempting another force palm. However, Luke recovered just in time to catch DJ's outstretched arm and toss him away.

DJ flipped in the air and dashed at Luke again when he hit the ground. Unfortunately for him, Luke had already summoned a glowing bone and swung it at DJ as he approached. Unable to stop himself, DJ was forced to slide across the ground in order to dodge the glowing bone. DJ slid past Luke and jumped to his feet. He then landed a successful force palm on Luke's back, causing the Lucario to stumble forward.

Luke recovered quickly and spun around, while swinging his bone at impressive speeds. Having no way of dodging, DJ brought up his arms in a measly defense against Luke's bone rush. The attack struck the bones that sprouted from the back of DJ's paws, pushing the young Riolu back, his heels creating small trenches. DJ lowered his arms only to put them back up in order to defend against a dark pulse sent by Luke. As soon as the attack made contact with DJ there was an explosion and DJ was sent crashing through the air before he hit the ground with a thud.

"I thought you said that you haven't begun to fight," Luke taunted.

"That's because I haven't," DJ said, leaping to his feet, surprising Luke. He then fired an aura sphere at point blank range and hit Luke in the chest.

Luke gave a shout of pain as he was sent crashing to the ground from the force of the aura sphere. Luke pushed himself off the ground and held his injured chest. He then raised his head and giving DJ a look that promised pain.

Before DJ could react, he was hit by another dark pulse. DJ was sent flying back from the attack and hit the ground back first. DJ quickly jumped to his feet, his arms up in a defensive position, but he was unprepared for Luke's onslaught. Luke hit him with several powerful force palms, causing DJ to cry out in pain. Luke then hit him with a close range aura sphere.

"GAHH!" DJ cried out as he was sent flying back. DJ hit the ground hard enough to bounce a few feet off the ground before landing on his stomach.

"Such a shame," Luke said, gazing at DJ's prone form. "You could be so much stronger if you used the primal aura."

"Damn you," DJ said as he tried to get to his feet, his whole body aching in pain.

"So stubborn," Luke sighed. "You could have all the power you ever wanted and no one would be able to defeat you! Why do you insist on not using that power?"

"Because that power will only bring ruin!" DJ shouted in response.

"Yet that very power was given to us by Mew herself," Luke countered. "If she did not want us to use that power she would have never given it to us."

At this DJ was silent. Luke had a point. Mew herself had given them this ability. An ability that could cause so much pain to those close to you. Seeing the look of uncertainty in DJ's eyes, Luke smirked.

"I see that you are beginning to doubt what you've been told," Luke said. "You have been lied to pup. The primal aura is not evil. It is the key to great power." DJ was silent at this statement. Thinking that DJ was thinking that DJ was contemplating what was said to him, Luke offered a paw to the downed Riolu. "Join me, and together we will rule this world."

DJ looked at the paw in front of him as if contemplating accepting it. DJ lifted a tentative paw towards Luke's outstretched one. Seeing this, Luke's smirk grew. Just as DJ was about to accept the offered paw, before his paw clenched in a fist.

"No," DJ said.

"What was that?" Luke asked.

"I said no!" DJ said, his resolve strengthening. He shakily rose to his feet and glared at Luke in defiance. "I will never join you! And I won't use that power because don't need it! I have my friends and as long as I have them I won't be tempted!"

Luke merely sighed and gave DJ a pitying look, as if he was saddened by DJ's response. "I see. They really did a number on you're mind," he sighed. "They have you wrapped around their fingers. There is only one way I can get you to see the truth. I must get rid of those that hold you back."

"What do you mean by that?" DJ asked, not liking the look in the Lucario's eyes.

"I mean that I must dispose of those who are keeping you from realizing your true potential," Luke said. "I must dispose of those you call 'friends'."

"WHAT?!"

"It is the only way. You said it yourself that you would never use your power as long as you have those who you perceive as your friends. Only then will you see the error of your ways."

"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH THEM!" DJ shouted.

"And how are you going to stop me?" Luke questioned mockingly.

"I'll... I'll," DJ said before his pupils constricted, making him look more feral. "I'll kill you!"

"Oh?" Luke said amusedly. Before beckoning the young Riolu forward. "Then by all means, come and kill me if you can."

DJ lunged forward and slashed at Luke with a shadow claw, but Luke blocked his attack with a bone rush. DJ continued to claw wildly at Luke, hoping to make contact with the aura Pokémon, but Luke kept blocking his attacks with his bone. As DJ continued his wild slashes, Luke saw an opening in DJ's strikes and lashed out with his bone, hitting the young emanation Pokémon in the side. As DJ held his side in an attempt to alleviate the pain, Luke struck DJ's foot with his bone, causing the young Riolu to fall. As he fell, Luke kicked DJ, sending him sliding across the ground.

"Such wasted potential," Luke sighed as he gazed at DJ, who was trying to push himself off the ground. "But don't worry. Once I plunge this world into darkness I will dispose of your teammates and then you will embrace your power."

"No," DJ said as he winced in pain. "I won't let you!"

"Oh, please," Luke said. "You've barely inflicted any damage on me. You can't possibly win against me! But if it bothers you so much I'll make their deaths quick and painless," he said this as if this would placate DJ.

"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH THEM!" DJ shouted. Dark blue aura then began to surround DJ, coating his body in a cloak of dark blue energy. His pupils constricted more and he bared his teeth, growling ferally.

Seeing this, Luke smiled smugly. "I thought you weren't going to use your primal aura." His only response was a shadow claw that passed inches from his face.

DJ growled and struck at Luke with another shadow claw, forcing Luke to jump back or risk loosing his face. Luke continued to dodge DJ's shadow claws, all the while DJ grew angrier and angrier as he unconsciously drew upon his primal aura. Slowly his mind began to go and the only cognitive thought that went through the young Riolu's mind was to destroy his enemy. With that one thought going through his mind, DJ roared and fired a large aura sphere at Luke.

The sphere hit Luke dead on and sent him flying back. Luke managed to flip in the air and landed on his feet, though due to the force of the attack, he skidded across the ground. Luke slammed his hand on the ground in order to slow his movement. When he finally stopped, he was forced to leap to the side to dodge DJ, who had leapt into the air and attempted to use a viscous blaze kick. DJ's attack caused the ground under his foot to cave in, creating a small crater.

"See how much stronger you are when you use your power?" Luke asked, observing the damage cause by DJ's attack. DJ turned and glared at Luke, his feral eyes full of hate. "I see," Luke said when he looked into DJ's eyes. "You truly have no control of yourself. Right now you are nothing more than a wild Pokémon. A wild Pokémon with an insane amount of power that is."

DJ only growled in response before lunging at Luke. Luke jumped back just as DJ used force palm on the spot where Luke once stood, breaking the ground under him. DJ gave another growl of annoyance and launched an aura sphere at Luke. Luke crossed his arms to defend against the attack, but when the attack hit, he was surprised when the attack blasted him back, causing his feet to dig trenches as he was pushed back.

"That last attack had some power in it," Luke said as he lowered his arms. "You certainly have a lot of power, unfortunately I do not have time to deal with you at the moment." As he said this, Luke activated his own primal aura.

The power that Luke released was powerful enough to crack the ground around him. Even in his primal state, DJ could not help but feel apprehensive. The power that Luke was exuding was suffocating. It felt as if it were trying to smother him, trying to make him submit. DJ's feral mind was hard pressed to resist the urge to bow before the larger Pokémon.

"I'm surprised you're able to resist my influence," Luke commented, speaking clearly despite having activated his own primal aura. "However, I cannot afford to waste time with you right now. I'll have to knock you out quickly then activate the dark well."

DJ growled and leapt at Luke, only for him to seemingly disappear and reappear behind DJ. Before DJ could react, Luke hit him in the back with a force palm, sending him to the ground. DJ landed on the ground on all fours, his paws and feet cracking the ground, and leapt forward, gaining distance from Luke.

"Hmmm," Luke hummed as he observed the young feral Riolu. "Even in your feral state you demonstrate some cognitive thoughts such as gaining distance from your foe in order to analyze your opponent. Interesting... It appears that my first assumption was wrong. You _do_ in fact have a level of control over your primal aura, though no enough to use it effectively."

DJ growled again before charging up another aura sphere. He then fired his attack at Luke, who smirked at the attack. As the attack approached, Luke swatted the sphere away as if it were nothing more than a bothersome fly. The aura sphere impacted the ground a few feet away from Luke and exploded, causing debris to fly in every direction.

"Pointless," Luke muttered before he flared his aura, causing DJ to feel the same suffocating feeling that he had felt earlier only this time it was more intense. "Just give in. My power dwarfs yours, so just give up."

DJ clutched his head as he growled and snarled viciously. The effects of Luke's aura was slowly getting to him. The urge to bow before Luke came back tenfold (*1). In a last ditch effort to break Luke's influence on him, DJ fired an aura sphere at look, who was caught off guard and was hit in result.

Luke stumbled back from the attack and glared at DJ, but it was too late. Luke's concentration was broken and DJ was free from Luke's influence. Free from Luke's influence DJ leapt at Luke, only for Luke to catch him by the throat and lifting him into the air.

"Insolent brat!" Luke growled as he brought DJ to eye level, though he kept him at arms length. DJ snarled and snapped at Luke, trying to inflict some kind of harm on the Lucario. "You just don't know when to quit. Even when you're in this state, you have a strong will. I'll have to beat that out of you once I've activated the dark well."

At this, DJ struggled harder, as if he understood the repercussions of the dark well activating in his feral mind. Luke merely tightened his grip on DJ's throat, stopping DJ from breaking free. "Why must you be so stubborn?" Luke sighed. "Ah, well. That will all change once the dark well is activated." A sick smile spread across Luke's face. "Until then..."

Luke then preceded to slam DJ into the ground with enough force to crack the ground. Before DJ even attempt to get up, Luke slammed his paw into DJ's gut and used force palm. DJ shouted in pain as he was pushed further into the ground. Luke then kicked him high into the air before firing an aura sphere at him, sending him higher in the air.

As DJ reached the apex of his ascent, Luke appeared above him in a burst of speed and blasted the poor Riolu back to the ground with a powerful dark pulse. DJ hit the ground with a loud boom, causing dust to cover DJ's form. Before the dust that covered DJ dispersed, Luke fired several aura spheres at DJ, causing multiple explosions.

Luke landed on the ground and looked at the smoke that covered his adversary. When the smoke and dust finally cleared, DJ could be seen laying face down on the ground, the blue aura that had cloaked his body now gone. Luke walked over to the unmoving Riolu and nudged him with his foot. When DJ did not respond, Luke smirked and allowed his primal aura to deactivate.

"And so Tobias' last hope disappears," Luke said smugly, before turning to the dark well. "Now to activate the dark well and plunge this world into darkness!"

**DJ's mind**

DJ felt as if he was falling, yet at the same time it was as if he was flying. He opened his eyes and saw only darkness._ Where am I? What happened?_ DJ thought, then all of a sudden, t all came back to him._ I guess I lost. Sorry guys. I failed._

"... WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT! BECAUSE WE ARE TEAM STARDUST!"

_That voice_... _It sounded like Asura, _DJ thought before closing his eyes in sadness._ But it doesn't matter. I can't do this by myself. I've lost._

"DON'T GIVE UP DJ!"

_Katara?! _DJ thought, opening his eyes in surprise._ That voice sounded like Katara!_

"You can't give up DJ," the voice of Katara. "You need to keep fighting. If you give up the world is doomed!"

_But what can I do? _DJ thought depressedly. _He beat me even when I used my primal aura! I can't stand up to power like that._

"Don't lose heart Alpha."

_Leaf?!_

"When I first met you, you showed true strength and courage. You fought for your friend even when the odds were stacked against you. That is why I wanted you to be my Alpha. So do not give up my Alpha! Keep fighting!"

_Leaf... Katara..._

"Don't you dare give up little brother!"

_Cecil too?_

"Since when do you give up?! You never quit, no matter what you go through! So get off your ass and fight!"

_Sis..._

"Come on DJ, it isn't like you to just give up."

_Jackson?_

"Don't give up now. Let the moon guide you to victory!"

DJ sweat-dropped at Jackson's final statement, but the message was clear. Suddenly a light burst out from the darkness. DJ squinted in order to see what the light was and was shocked when he saw everyone suddenly appear in front of him.

"Come on DJ, get up!"

"Don't give up now!"

_Bertha... and Blitz..._

"Don't give up! Keep fighting!"

"DJ... Don't give in."

_Blade and Drake..._

"Keep on fighting DJ!"

_Grace..._

"I told you when you first joined the team, there is no place on this team for weaklings. So get up and keep fighting!"

_Asura..._

"Come on pup! I taught you better than that! Get up!"

_Gramps..._

"DJ, you're part of my guild, and my guild does not give up! No matter how bad the odds are stacked against us. Now, get up!"

_Guildmaster..._ DJ thought.

"DJ!" came the voices of several other Pokémon.

_Team Sunflare and Team Odd Squad too,_ tears began to well up in his eyes. _Everyone... They're right, I can't give up because I'm not alone! _The light grew brighter and brighter until the light had completely engulfed the dark._ Even if they aren't with me physically, my friends are always with me. And because of that... I WON'T QUIT!_

**Reality**

Luke approached the dark well with the key in his paw and a victorious smirk on his face. "Now I shall plunge this world into darkness!" he said. Just as he was about to insert the key into the well he froze when he felt a large pulse of aura come from behind him. He turned and saw that the only one behind him was an unconscious DJ. "What was..."

Luke faltered when a light blue aura pulsed from DJ before disappearing. Luke was utterly shocked at what he just saw and felt. The aura that he felt was equal if not greater than his own when he was using his primal aura. Before Luke could think about this more about this, DJ gave another pulse of aura, this time more powerful than the previous pulse.

"I'm not done yet..." DJ's voice rang out. "I refuse to give up."

"What?" Luke said, unsure of what was happening. To his surprise DJ pushed himself off the ground and got to his feet.

"I refuse to give up like this," DJ said, giving off another pulse of aura, this time cracking the ground around him. "I WON'T GIVE UP! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!"

DJ then unleashed a giant wave of aura that cracked the ground and created a powerful wind that forced Luke to cover his eyes. _WHAT IS THIS POWER?! _Luke shouted in his mind as he fought to stay on his feet.

A large pillar of blue light came from DJ and shot into the sky. The power exuding from the pillar created more cracks as the very tower shook.

**Base of the Tower**

The Gallade guild continued to push there way through Luke's forces. The guild had suffered minimal causalities, and they were gaining ground. They shouted in victory as they saw Luke's forces begin to flee when they saw the light come from the Tower.

"What is that?!" a random guild member shouted.

"It's the dark well!" another shouted. "WE"RE DOOMED!"

"No," Alistair said. "That's not the dark well. It's DJ!"

"What?!" Tobias asked. "That's DJ?! Is it the primal aura?!"

"No, it's similar, but it's not the primal aura," Alistair answered. "It's seems... lighter."

"What do you mean by that?" Tobias asked.

"I don't know how to explain it," Alistair said truthfully. "All I can say is that whatever this new power is it, I can't sense any malicious intent coming from it."

**Tower Pinnacle**

The light coming from DJ finally died down and the oppressing power that came from it disappeared. Luke opened his eyes and was shocked at the damage that had been done to the surrounding area. The ground was covered in cracks and pieces of the ground were strewn all over the tower pinnacle. Luke's eyes then fell upon where the pillar originated and they widened at what he saw. Where the pillar of aura was, there was a giant crater with a five yard diameter, but what really shocked him was what stood in the center of the crater.

In the center of the crater stood DJ, who had his eyes closed. However, there was something different about him. He was surrounded by what looked like blue fire, the same color of the pillar of aura. Upon closer inspection it could be seen that the 'flames' that surrounded the young Riolu was in fact aura. DJ raised his head and opened his eyes, revealing startling blue eyes that seemed to radiate power.

"W-What is this?!" Luke shouted, shocked and angry at this new development. "WHAT IS THIS POWER?!"

"This power?" DJ asked, looking at his paws before clenching them. "This is the power given to me by my friends. There hopes and dreams reside within me and they're all telling me to kick your ass."

"Kick _my _ass?" Luke laughed, though in the inside he was shaking. "We've gone over this before! You can't beat me!"

"We shall see," DJ said, his tone of superiority angering Luke.

"Insolent brat," Luke growled, activating his primal aura. "If you think you can beat me then-"

"I don't think I can beat you," DJ interrupted. "I _know _I can beat you, because I'm not alone. My friends stand behind me. They are my strength. They are my power. And with that power... I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!"

**Author's Note:**

1: When I had DJ trying to fight off Luke's influence when they had their primal aura activated I was referencing what happens in animal pack in the wild. In the wild, most packs have one alpha that controls the other members of the pack. In order to do this they exude a presence that commands respect from the others, forcing the pack to obey the alpha's command. A beta (other members of the pack) can challenge the alpha for right over the pack by defying the alpha's will. That is what I was trying to convey by having Luke (who was trying to be the alpha) trying to force his will upon DJ, since, when they use their primal aura, they become more wild.


	32. Chapter 32

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stardust**

**Chapter 32: Final Battle part 4**

**Tower Pinnacle**

Everything was still as the two Pokémon squared off. Even the wind had died down as if sensing the tension in the air. Luke glared at DJ, still trying to understand the change that DJ underwent. DJ glared as well, but his glare was one of annoyance as if Luke was merely an inconvenience. Seeing this look, Luke became further enraged.

"Don't think that just because you have this power you can beat me!" Luke asked as he activated his primal aura. "The fact of the matter is YOU CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO COMPARE TO ME!"

DJ remained in passive, not at all effected by Luke's primal aura. "If you believe that then come at me with everything you've got," DJ said calmly, getting into a fighting stance.

This pushed Luke over the edge. "YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" Luke shouted, flaring his aura. "I WILL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER!" Luke then charged into the crater, determined to put DJ in his place.

Seeing Luke running at him, DJ sidestepped, avoiding Luke, and slammed a force palm into Luke's side. The force of DJ's force palm sent Luke flying out of the crater and crashing into the ground. Luke slowly got to his feet, a bewildered look on his face. He looked at DJ, who was leisurely walking out of the crater, and glared.

"You little-" Luke began. He was cut off by DJ suddenly appearing in front of him in a burst of speed and kicking him in the face with a blaze kick.

Luke grunted in pain as he was sent to the ground again. He immediately jumped to his feet and fired an aura sphere at DJ's head. Seeing the approaching attack, DJ leaned his head slightly to the side, allowing the sphere to pass by his head before it impacted on the ground and exploded. DJ moved his head to it's original position.

"Is this really the best you can do?" DJ said, mocking Luke's earlier statement. "You seemed so much stronger when we first fought in the alley."

Luke's face became red with rage. "YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" Luke shouted.

"Is that the only insult you can come up with?" DJ mocked. "Even Blitz comes up with better insults then that."

"You little..." Luke growled, his anger reaching its peak. "HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN INSIGNIFICANT WORM! TO THINK THAT I ATTEMPTED TO GET YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ONLY NEED POWER!"

"As I said before, power isn't everything," DJ said calmly. "While it is true that power is necessary for a Pokémon to survive in this world, power isn't everything."

"Oh?" Luke asked in mock confusion. "Then what else is their."

"Having people that care for you."

"HA! This song and dance again?" Luke laughed. "How long are you going to keep this up."

"Until you understand," DJ said. "Having people that care for you allow you to truly become strong. They help push you to your limit, keep you safe, and pick you up when you're down. And on top of all of that, by having someone you care for, you can be truly strong."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's me belief that one becomes strong when they wish to protect someone that they care for," DJ said sagely. "When one wants to protect someone important to them they tap into a power that is strong enough to overcome any foe. That's what this power is." DJ gestured to himself at this. "I activated this power when the one's I cared about were threatened. And with this power, I will protect those I hold dear!"

Luke was silent for a moment before he burst laughing. "You-you really believe that emotional crap?!" Luke laughed. "Fool. Power have nothing to do with _friends_. It comes from destroying all those in your way! Friends will only hold you back from reaching your true potential. The only way that you can be strong is to only care for yourself!"

DJ sighed and shook his head. "I see now that Guildmaster Gallade and Gramps were wrong about the primal aura..."

"You admit it!" Luke exclaimed. "You admit that the primal aura is only power that is meant to be utilized to make oneself stronger!"

"That's not what I said," DJ interrupted. "Guildmaster Gallade and Gramps right when they said that the primal aura hurts those around you, but the primal aura hurts more than the people around you."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"The primal aura not only hurts those around you, but it also hurts the one using it," DJ answered. "That power clouds the minds and pushes everyone away. Because of this you will live a life of solitude and without others you slowly lose yourself to the primal aura's influence and your views changed." DJ looked at Luke with his soul piercing eyes. "That's what happened to you, isn't it? Without friends the primal aura was able to corrupt your mind and freeze your heart. It must have been hard for you."

"D-Don't patronize me!" Luke shouted. "You know nothing about me! You think that this power clouds my mind, well you're wrong. I've always craved power! I fought foe after foe in order to become more powerful, but it was never enough. No matter how many Pokémon I fought I was never strong enough. Then I discovered the primal aura." Luke's face then broke out in an insane grin. "When I used that power, I felt strong, stronger than I've ever felt before! I was able to beat those that I would have never been able to beat before. Then my so called _friends_ told me not to use it anymore."

"That's because they were worried about you," DJ argued. "They didn't want to see you become consumed by that power. They-"

"No, they were just jealous of my power!" Luke shouted, cutting off DJ. "They were jealous that I had that power and they didn't! They held me back and kept me from reaching my true potential! But I showed them. I left them and became strong by myself, and I succeeded. I have surpassed my old _friends_ and I did it on my own!"

"And in the process you lost your humanity," DJ said. "Or, would it be Pokémonity? Either way, you lost yourself."

"Fool, I've always been like this!"

"I don't believe you. Mew wouldn't have brought you to this world if you were like this."

"Enough!" Luke shouted. "It doesn't matter what you think. The fact of the matter is that you're in the way of my goal. While I would prefer to keep you alive, if you continue to stand in my way, I will crush you."

"Then there is no way around it," DJ sighed. "You are too far gone to be saved." DJ slipped into a fighting stance. "If you truly believe that you are strong without friends then come at me with everything you've got!"

"With pleasure," Luke said as he charged at DJ with a force palm, only for it to be blocked by an opposing force palm which caused a small explosion to occur between the two Pokémon. The force of the explosion sent Luke flying back while DJ was only pushed back a few feet.

Luke landed on his feet and fired an aura sphere at DJ, who merely looked at the glowing sphere in disinterest. Just as the attack was about to hit DJ, he leapt into the air and kicked the aura sphere with a blaze kick, coating the sphere in flames and sending it back at a shell-shocked Luke. Luke snapped out of his shock and jumped to the side to avoid the attack. The burning aura sphere flew past Luke and hit the ground with an explosion.

"Cool," DJ said, looking at the destruction caused by the combination attack. "That was a cool combo. I'll have to remember it for later."

"There won't be a later for you!" Luke said, firing a dark pulse at DJ.

As the attack approached DJ, he used aura sphere and blocked the attack, shocking Luke. Taking advantage of Luke's shock, DJ dashed forward and hit Luke in the stomach with a force palm. Luke doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach and stumbling back. Before he could recover, DJ attacked again with a blaze kick aimed at Luke's midsection. Luke grunted in pain when he felt the second attack hit, but ignored the pain and attempted to hit DJ with a bone rush attack. DJ leaned back, making the glowing bone soar over his head. DJ straightened himself and aimed a force palm at Luke, forcing the Lucario to leap back.

Luke growled in frustration and fired another aura sphere at the elusive Riolu. DJ used another shadow claw and slashed through the attack before running at Luke, attacking with a barrage of force palms. Luke's eyes widened at the speed of DJ's attack and was barely able to dodge them all.

_How the hell did he get this strong?! _Luke shouted in his mind as he dodged DJ's assault. _I can barely keep up with him! This is insane!_

Hoping to push DJ back, Luke summoned a glowing bone and lashed out with it. However, DJ merely caught the bone and slammed a force palm into Luke's gut. Luke gasped as he felt the air leave his lungs. He growled in anger and attempted to hit DJ with another bone rush, only to be shocked when DJ cut through it with a shadow claw.

Luke was completely caught off guard by this. For DJ to cut through his bone rush, showed how much power the young Riolu possessed. Before Luke could snap out of his confusion, DJ had already delivered a powerful blaze kick to the Lucario's chin, sending him into the air. DJ then leapt over Luke and slammed him back to the ground with another blaze kick.

"ARG!" Luke shouted as he slammed into the ground. He slowly got to his feet and looked at DJ with a mix of shock and anger. "How? HOW ARE YOU THIS STRONG?!"

"I already told you how," DJ said, his tone betraying no emotion. "Unlike you, I fight to protect those I hold dear. You fight for your own selfish goals, not caring about what you have to do or who you step on to reach your goal. Because of that, you will always be weak."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" Luke shouted. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR WHAT I'VE DONE TO REACH WHERE I AM! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF POWER!"

"I don't know anything about power?" DJ asked. "Then why am I beating you?"

Luke's face became red with anger. "DAMN YOU!" Luke shouted, running at DJ. "I'LL SHOW YOU POWER!" He attempted to hit DJ with a force palm, but DJ disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared behind Luke.

"You lose," DJ said, his voice barely above a whisper. DJ formed an aura sphere in his paw and slammed it into Luke's back, causing Luke to scream in pain and go flying through the air. Luke landed on the ground in front of the dark well and did not move, his primal aura dissipating. DJ looked at Luke's prone body for a few seconds before sighing, his own aura dissipating. "It's over."

"DJ!" DJ turned and saw a Frogadier running towards him.

"Katara?" DJ asked in shock, surprised at Katara's new form. "You evolved?"

"Never mind that! Are you okay?!" Katara asked. She then took notice to Luke's unmoving form. "You beat him?!"

"You sound surprised," DJ said in mock irritation. "What, you didn't think that I could beat him?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Katara spluttered.

"Katara, I'm just kidding," DJ said, laughing at his friend before he suddenly stumbled forward.

"DJ!" Katara shouted, catching her friend before he could fall. "Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"

"I'm fine," DJ said. "I'm just tired. That fight took a lot out of me."

"Well it's over now, so you can rest."

"I plan on it..." DJ began. The ground suddenly shook violently, causing Katara and DJ to stumble. "What the hell is that?!"

"This is the beginning of the end!" Katara and DJ turned and were horrified to see an injured Luke on his feet and the crystal key inserted in the dark well. "Now, bear witness to the new age! The age of darkness!"

The ground began to shake more violently as a pillar of dark purple energy exploded from the dark well and shot into the sky. The dark energy created a black cloud in the sky that expanded, blanketing the everything in a mile radius. Flashes of purple lightning could be seen in the dark clouds, illuminating the sky with ominous light.

**Base of the Tower**

"What is that?!" Davis shouted as dark energy shot from the top of the tower and into the air.

"It's the dark well," Alistair said. "It's been activated!"

"WE'RE DOOMED!" a random guild member shouted.

Seeing the pillar, Luke's remaining forces became emboldened, thinking that their master had succeeded in his goal, and launched a final effort against the terrified guild members. Luke's forces crashed into the members of the Gallade Guild, surprising them and pushing them back slightly.

Seeing his guild become terrified, he spoke up. "ENOUGH!" Tobias shouted, gaining his guilds attention. "It's not over yet! We will fight until we can't fight anymore!"

"Your guild master is right!" Alistair shouted. "I know you all are scared, but we cannot lose heart. We still have Pokémon in the tower fighting. They are not giving up, so the rest of us cannot afford to give up either!"

These words helped strengthened the resolve of the guild. With their resolve returned, the guild fought back harder then they had before. Despite his inspiring words, Alistair still looked trouble. He looked at the tower and the growing black cloud, his face full of worry.

_DJ_, he thought. _Don't give up yet._

**Tower Pinnacle**

DJ and Katara looked on in horror as dark energy continued to expel dark energy into the sky. The dark cloud continued to expand, increasing its radius to five miles. Luke laughed maniacally as he watched the dark cloud expand.

"This is the beginning of the end," Luke repeated, his sick smile stretching across his face. "In about ten minutes the cloud will expand and cover everything in a hundred mile radius and when it does, dark energy will rain down and turn everything it touches dark and corrupt. Then, that darkness will seep into the ground, into the very core this world. There it will spread to the other dark wells that are connected to the core and activate them, spreading the darkness across the entire globe."

"I won't let that happen!" DJ growled, glaring at Luke.

"Fool, you can do nothing to stop me," Luke said.

"Oh, yeah?" DJ said. "I was just kicking your ass a few seconds ago. What's changed?"

"Much has changed my dear pup," Luke said sadistically as he moved to stand next to the dark well. "You see, before you had the advantage with that power of yours, but that changes now." Luke then placed his paw into the geyser of dark energy, surprising both DJ and Katara.

Luke roared in pain as the dark energy entered his body. Dark purple tendrils of energy spread over Luke's body, wrapping his body like a spider wraps webbing around its prey. Luke's entire body was engulfed in the energy, forming a dark purple cocoon like structure around the Lucario. The purple cocoon then turned pitch black before exploding in burst of dark energy. The force of the explosion stirred up the winds, sending dust and debris everywhere

DJ and Katara raised their arms to shield their eyes from the dust and wind. When the winds finally died down, DJ and Katara lowered their arms and saw something that shocked them to their cores. Standing there, in the epicenter of the the explosion, was Luke, though he looked a lot different then before.

Luke's entire body was coated in a dark purple aura that swirled around him like fire. His eyes were now an even deeper shade of crimson, reminding the duo of blood. However, the most notable change was his fur. Instead of having dark blue fur, Luke's fur was now midnight black. The places on Luke that were usually black were now a gray, while his cream colored torso what now ash gray, a shade darker than his paws.

Luke looked at the duo and grinned ferally. "This is true power," Luke said, his voice sounding slightly distorted. "The power of darkness."

Luke then disappeared and reappeared behind Katara in an impressive display of speed and slammed his palm against her back. There was a flash of energy and Katara was sent flying. She crashed into the ground, creating an impression in the ground and did not get back up.

"KATARA!" DJ shouted. He turned to Luke and looked at him with an expression full of anger and hatred. He then activated his glowing aura (not the primal aura) and ran at Luke. "YOU BASTARD!"

Luke smirked at the approaching Riolu. DJ sent a force palm towards the darkness infused Lucario, but Luke parried his strike and delivered a force palm of his own, sending the young Riolu into the air. DJ soared through the air, but landed on his feet, intending to attack Luke again only for said Lucario to suddenly appear in front of him. Luke's sudden appearance caused DJ to stumble backwards in shock.

"Can't you see that your efforts are futile?" Luke questioned. "This power I have completely dwarfs yours. You are nothing but an insignificant bug compared to me."

"I heard that before, right before I kicked your ass!" DJ said, recovering from his shock. He then slashed at Luke with a shadow claw, only for Luke to catch his arm.

"Like I said. Futile," Luke gripped DJ's arm and tossed him high into the air before firing a dark purple aura sphere at DJ.

Seeing the attack, DJ straightened himself in mid air and fired an aura sphere of his own at the purple sphere. To DJ's shock, and horror, Luke's aura sphere cut through DJ's and hit DJ full force, causing an explosion. DJ dropped from the sky like a stone and hit the ground with a thud. DJ pushed himself to his feet and glared at the smirking Lucario.

"Now do you understand? No matter what you do, it will never be enough. You are only delaying the inevitable. Soon darkness will rain down and make everyone just like me."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" DJ ran forward and lashed out with a blaze kick, but, despite his best efforts, Luke merely sidestepped and got behind DJ. Seeing his attack fail, DJ pivoted on his foot and launched a spinning blaze kick at Luke's stomach, this time making contact.

Luke winced in pain when he felt DJ's attack make contact, but chose to ignore the pain in favor of avoiding a force palm sent by DJ. Luke dodged the attack and fired a close range dark pulse at DJ, sending the young Riolu tumbling back. DJ jumped to his feet and slashed at Luke with a shadow claw. Luke parried the attack and attempted to strike DJ with a force palm. However, DJ saw the attack and was able to dodge in time.

The two traded blow after blow, each trying to land a devastating hit upon the other. The duo's strikes were fast and deadly, neither wasting any movements. Finally, DJ thought he saw an opening in Luke's guard and attempted to send a force palm at Luke's torso. This proved to be a fatal mistake as Luke had purposly left an opening in his defense, so when DJ tried to strike Luke, he batted away DJ's paw, and hit the young Riolu in the chest with a force palm.

DJ flew back from the hit, but managed to remain on his feet. Before DJ could recover fully from Luke's attack, Luke had already fired several dark aura spheres at him. Each attack hit it's mark as DJ cried out in pain when he felt the attacks hit. Luke then dashed at DJ, a purple glowing bone in his paws, and struck him repeatedly with the weapon. DJ, who was unable to defend himself, stumbled backwards due to the hits and was barely keeping his balance.

"Like I said," Luke said as he blasted DJ back with a powerful dark pulse. "Futile."

DJ landed next to Katara and struggled to his feet. He managed to get to his feet only to fall to one knee. The aura surrounding him diminishing somewhat. Seeing DJ's state, Luke smirked victoriously.

"Such a shame," Luke said in mock sadness as he stood in front of the dark well. "You had such potential, but I'm afraid this is the end of you."

"No," DJ said, attempting to pushing himself to his feet. "I won't let it end like this!"

"Look on the bright side," Luke said, cupping his paws together and creating an aura sphere. "You won't live long enough to see the world be consumed by darkness!" The aura sphere in Luke's paws then began to swell as he poured more power into the sphere. The glowing orb continued to grow until it was twice the size of Luke. "NOW DIE!" With that, he fired the giant aura sphere at DJ.

Seeing the attack hurling towards him, DJ brought up his paws as if planning to catch the attack. Channeling aura into his paws, he braced himself for the attack. As soon as the giant purple sphere touched DJ's paws, DJ felt pain coarse through his body. His feet dug into the ground as DJ was pushed back by the power of the attack. DJ's muscles strained as he tried to push the attack away. On top of that, the glowing sphere seemed to be exuding negative energy, causing DJ's emotion sense to go haywire.

_I can't keep this up_! he thought as he felt pain shot through his body. He tried to push back against the attack, but he was steadily losing ground. _I can't stand up to this kind of power_.

"DON'T GIVE UP DJ!" DJ turned his head and saw Katara was on one knee.

"Katara," DJ said weakly. "You need to get out of here. I can't hold this thing back much longer."

Katara merely shook her head negatively and looked DJ with confidence in her eyes. "Not on your life!" she shouted. "There are too many people counting on you for you to give up now! They all believe in you! I believe in you! SO DON'T YOU DARE EVEN THINK OF GIVING UP!"

DJ stared at her with wide eyes, surprised at the passion in her voice. His eyes steeled in determination as he turned back to the glowing sphere he was barely keeping at bay. With his resolve strengthened, DJ pushed body to the limit in order and push back against the glowing sphere.

_I can't give up_, DJ thought as he focused more aura into his paws. _I won't give up! _ DJ's aura flared as he was once again enveloped in his billowing cloak of aura. _I REFUSE TO GIVE UP!_

DJ gave a grunt as he pushed more aura into his paws. DJ slammed his feet into the ground, anchoring himself in spot. Because of the aura DJ pumped into his paws, his own aura entered the glowing sphere, causing it to swell in size, surprising Luke.

"What is this?!" Luke shouted in surprise.

"I won't let you plunge this world in darkness," DJ said, the aura around him intensifying. DJ's aura then mixed with Luke's attack, not only causing the attack to grow in size, but also change from dark purple to light blue, the same color as DJ's aura. "I WILL STOP YOU EVEN AT THE COST OF MY OWN LIFE!"

With a roar of defiance, DJ threw the now light blue aura sphere at a stunned Luke. As the giant aura sphere headed towards Luke, he put his paws up, intending to reciprocate what DJ had done. He was completely caught off guard when the attack touched his paws and immediately pushed him back several feet before he was able to slow himself down. His feet dug up the ground under him as he was pushed further and further back by the glowing sphere. He tried to pump his own aura into the glowing sphere like DJ did, but found that his aura would not meld with the sphere.

"How can this be?!" Luke questioned as he was pushed back. "HOW CAN I BE DEFEATED BY A MERE CHILD?!"

Before Luke could say more, he was engulfed by the sphere, blocking him from view. With nothing to stop its path, the giant aura sphere continued to move forward, with Luke trapped inside, until it hit the dark well. As soon as the aura sphere touched the dark well it exploded with enough force to send DJ and Katara tumbling backwards and shake the entire tower.

The explosion also caused the pillar of dark energy flickered before completely disappearing. Because the pillar of dark energy was no longer fueling the growth of the black cloud that covered the sky, it began to dissipate as well.

**Base of the Tower**

Back with Tobias and his guild, they all felt the shock wave from the explosion. Everyone looked up and saw the pillar of purple energy disappear and the cloud fade away to nothing. Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Luke's forces shouted in despair.

"MASTER LUKE HAS BEEN DEFEATED!" one of the outlaws shouted. "RETREAT!"

Seeing Luke's forces running away, a cheer rang throughout the guild.

"WE WON!" one guild member shouted.

"WE'RE NOT DOOMED!" shouted another.

Tobias looked at the tower and smiled. "They really did it," he said to no one in particular.

"That they did," Alistair said, moving to stand next to his old teammate. "I just hope they are all okay..."

"I'm sure they're fine," Tobias said confidently.

**Tower Pinnacle**

"...Ugh," DJ grunted as he shook off the cobwebs that surrounded his head. He got to one knee and looked around. All around him smoke and dust swirled, obscuring everything from view. "Katara? KATARA?!" When he did not see Katara near him he began to panic, thinking that she had been hurt further. He continued to shout until he heard a week voice.

"Ugh, five more minutes Mom," DJ spun towards the sound of the voice, but was met with more smoke.

"Katara, is that you?" DJ asked as he moved in the direction that he heard the voice.

"DJ?" Katara asked.

DJ kept moving through the dust that was beginning to settle in until he came upon the Frogadier in a kneeling position. "Katara!" he exclaimed as he moved to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little sore," Katara said as she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring her protesting limbs. "What happened to the dark well?"

"I'm not sure," DJ said, looking in the direction of the dark well. "I think the energy that it was expelling stopped after the attack hit. Though the smoke seems to be dispersing, so we'll find out what happened soon..."

True to his word, the smoke surrounding the duo began to disperse into the air. The two watched with bated breath as the smoke around the dark well began to disappear. When the smoke finally disappeared, DJ and Katara could see that the dark well was now completely destroyed, even the crystal key lay in front of the rubble, broken into hundreds of pieces.

"I-It's destroyed," Katara said in surprise. "It's completely destroyed." Katara looked at DJ with a look of awe before she grabbed his paws and began to jump around in glee. "You did it!" she shouted. "You really did it!"

DJ was stunned for a few seconds, before he joined Katara in her celebration. "I can't believe it's over," DJ said, relief flooding his body.

"You better believe it!" Katara said happily. "You saved the world! Not bad for an amnesiac human."

"I don't know if that was an insult or a compliment," DJ deadpanned, earning a sly smile form Katara.

"Take it however you want!" she responded cheekily.

"DJ! Katara!" the duo turned and saw the rest of their team as well as Team Sunflare approaching them. The other members of Team Stardust looked a little worse for wear, with several of them limping and Bertha carrying Blitz on her back, but they were alive. They also noticed that Asura, who they were shocked to see that he had evolved, was supporting the unconscious form of the Floatzel from earlier.

"Guys!" Katara exclaimed happily. She then took notice of Team Sunflare. "Team Sunflare? What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to help you guys out," Tyler said. "Though you guys apparently didn't need it..."

"I see that Asura's not the only one who evolved," Grace commented, looking at Katara's new look. "Congrats."

"Enough chit chat," Asura interrupted. "What happened with the dark well."

In response DJ and Katara moved the side, revealing the rubble that used to be the dark well.

"What the hell happened to it?!" Collin asked in shock.

"I destroyed it," DJ said proudly, puffing out his chest only to wince when pain shot through him.

"You destroyed it?" John asked in bewilderment. "It's supposed to be some kind of ancient magical device! How the hell did you destroy it?!"

"Very carefully," DJ responded cheekily causing everyone, except Team Stardust who were all used to his antics, to face fault.

"Cheeky brat," Cecil said with a smirk.

"In all seriousness, I unlocked a new power," DJ said.

"A new power?" Jackson questioned. "You mean like your primal aura?"

"It is like my primal aura, but it's a lot different," DJ said.

"You mean that light blue aura that surrounded you? Katara asked, receiving a nod in affirmation.

"Um, what exactly is this primal aura you guys keep talking about?" Michaela asked.

"It's a power that, when angered, DJ activates. It doubles his strength and speed at the cost of his sanity." Blade answered. "He loses all control of himself and gains the mindset of a wild Pokémon."

"WHAT?!" was the shocked response of Team Sunflare.

"Geez! Is there anything else that you haven't told us?!" Jessie asked sarcastically.

"Hmm..." DJ hummed as he placed a paw on his chin as if thinking. "Nope! I think that's everything." DJ laughed at the deadpan looks that he got from Team Sunflare. "Anyway, while that power surrounds me like the primal aura it doesn't mess with my head at all. In fact, it fills me with the desire to protect."

"Cool," Blitz said from his spot on Bertha's back. "At least we don't have to worry about you trying to kill us again."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" DJ asked.

"Nope," Blitz answered in a happy tone.

DJ hung his head in depression, causing everyone to laugh at the young Riolu's misfortune. Eventually DJ joined in, happy that he could laugh without worrying about the world ending. It was then that all of the adrenaline that had been keeping DJ going ran out. He pitched forward and collapsed face first onto the ground.

"DJ/ALPHA!" everyone shouted as they rushed to the downed Riolu's side. Cecil got to him first and carefully flipped him on his back and checked him over.

"Is he okay?!" Katara asked, her eyes brimming with tears of worry.

Cecil looked over his injuries with a critical eye before sighing in relief. "None of his injuries are life threatening. He's just tired," she said, causing everyone to sigh in relief. Cecil then carefully picked up the sleeping Riolu and stood. "He does, however, need medical attention. I think all of us do..."

No one could deny this fact. Looking at themselves, all of them were covered in various injuries, even Team Sunflare.

"Come on everyone," Asura said. "Let's head back."


	33. Chapter 33

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stardust**

**Chapter 33: Time To Say Goodbye**

"I hate the infirmary," DJ groaned.

"Oh, quit complaining," Katara said. "At least you heal fast."

During the "Battle of the Tower", as the guild was calling it now, there were thankfully no causalities, but no one made it out of the battle unscathed. Currently, Team Stardust, Alistair, and Tobias were situated in one of the rooms of the medical division located in the guild. DJ was the only one in a bed, due to him receiving the most critical injuries, while everyone else sat in chairs.

"I know," DJ grumbled, rubbing his side. "I still hate to sitting still though."

"So does Blitz and you don't see him complaining," Bertha said, gesturing to Blitz's still form. She had a couple of bandages on her arms and hands. Her skull was also blackened in places due to the fire attacks she endured.

"That's because the burn medication they gave me make my whole body numb," Blitz said. His ears, stomach, and tail were all wrapped in bandages that had been lined with burn ointment. He also had bald patches where his fur was burned off.

"Maybe they should give some of that stuff to DJ to calm him down," Jackson joked, slightly wincing from his injuries. His stomach and chest were completely wrapped in bandages.

"So mean," DJ said with a pout, earning chuckles from those around him. Along with the bandage that wrapped around his midsection, DJ's paws were also wrapped due to the damage they suffered when he was holding back Luke's attack.

"Oh, lighten up DJ, we're just messing around," Blade said. He and his brother only had a few cuts and scrapes on them, though some of the chitin that covered Blade's body was cracked and broken in some places.

"Getting back on topic, whats the status of Miracle Town?" Asura asked his father. Asura's injuries, for the most part, had healed except for his right leg, which was in a cast.

"Everything is returning to normal," Tobias said much to the relief of all those present. Both Tobias and Alistair had escaped the battle with only minor injuries, due to many of Luke's forces being to scared to face two former members of the legendary Team SATE. "While everyone was shaken up by the dark cloud, everyone has calmed down considerably."

"What about the other teams that participated in the battle?" Grace asked. She had a few bandages on her stomach and one on her second mouth.

"Everyone is healing rather nicely," Tobias said happily. "Out of everyone that participated, you all received the worst injuries, considering that the ones you fought were Luke's strongest minions." Tobias sighed. "Had I known that you would be facing such strong foes, I wouldn't have let you go."

"Well it all worked out okay in the end," Alistair said, absentmindedly rubbing his arm, which was bandaged due to him receiving a burn during the battle.

"Speaking of Luke, has there been any word on his whereabouts?" Cecil asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Alistair said unhappily. "While it is possible that he was killed by DJ's last attack, it is unlikely as there is no sign of a body."

DJ shuddered at the thought that he had killed someone. Seeing this, Cecil quickly changed the subject. "So do you have any idea of what that power DJ used was?" she asked.

"I am still unsure," Alistair frowned. "When I first sensed the power, it felt similar to his primal aura in regards to power, but is gave off a different feeling. While the primal aura gives off a feeling of of hate and anger, the power that DJ used gave off a feeling of calm and safety. If I had to compare the two, I would say that the primal aura is more like a sword, while the other power is more of a shield."

"Well, where do you think that power came from?" Tobias asked. "Another power from Mew?"

"I don't think so," Alistair said. "It is my belief that whatever that power DJ used is what the primal aura should have been."

"What do you mean by that?" DJ asked.

"I think I understand what Alistair is saying," Katara said, gaining everyone's attention. "I've been thinking about this for a while and it doesn't make since that Mew would give DJ a power that corrupts when he is meant to save the world. If I were sending someone to save the world, I wouldn't give them a power that could turn them evil."

"I couldn't say it better myself," Alistair said.

"Now that you mention it, it doesn't make since," Grace said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that doesn't make since!" Blitz added. "Why would Mew give him that power when it has such a negative influence on him."

Bertha stared at Blitz with wide eyes. "I think that's the smartest thing you've ever said," she said, causing Blitz to stick his tongue out at her.

"So you think that whatever power I used was the power that Mew wanted me to have?" DJ asked. "Then where did the primal aura come from?"

"That, I'm not sure of," Alistair said truthfully. "It is possible that, when you came to this world, something happened to change your power and when Luke threatened the well being of your friends, you unleashed you true power."

DJ nodded silently, accepting Alistair's explanation. "If that's the case, does that mean that my primal aura is gone?"

"I would assume so," Alistair said.

"In that case, I think my new power deserves a name," DJ placed a paw on is chin in thought. He then snapped his fingers and looked up a the assembled Pokémon. "I got it! I'll call it the shining aura!"

"Shining aura?" Cecil questioned. "Doesn't sound very original."

"Well excuse me for not being creative," DJ huffed indigently, crossing his arms. "If you have any suggestions I'm all ears."

"Anyway," Tobias interrupted, getting to his feet. "I best head out. With many of the guild's members out of commission, there is a lot to do. I shall speak to you all later. Until then, I want all of you to take it easy." he looked at DJ specifically when he said this. Nodding to Team Stardust and Alistair, he opened the door and left.

Everyone fell into a comfortable silence as they all just relaxed. This silence was broken when the door opened again. Everyone turned towards the door and were shocked to see a battered Jet. Despite the various bruises that covered his body, his most prominent injury was the wound that Scourge inflicted upon him, which was covered by a bandage.

The room was completely silent when the former member of Team Stardust entered. The air in the room became awkward at the two parties looked at each other. Unable to to take the silence anymore, Jet cleared his throat.

"I err... came by to um... apologize for my actions," Jet said awkwardly, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I was not in my right mind when I attacked you guys and if you don't ever want to see me again... I'll understand."

Everyone remained silent after Jet's statement. Thinking that it this meant that they did not want to see him again Jet hung his head, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, and began to walk towards the door. He was stopped when he felt something impacted against the back of his head. Jet turned and saw Asura standing behind him, a glare.

"A-Asura?" Jet asked.

"What the hell Jet?!" Asura growled angrily. "You give us some half-ass apology and then try to leave?!"

"Listen Asura, I-"

"No, you listen," Asura said as his glare softened. "I already told you that I forgave you, and I'm sure the rest of the team forgives you too."

Jet's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Asura's words. He then turned to the rest of the team and saw his old teammates, the ones that were part of the team when he was still a Buizel. Seeing this, the tears that he was holding back, fell from his eyes.

"How?" Jet asked. "HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE ME SO EASILY?! I ATTACKED YOU GUYS. I WORKED FOR LUKE. I EVEN TRIED TO KILL ASURA FOR ARCEUS' SAKE! SO HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE ME SO EASILY?!"

"Because you're our friend," Asura said. "Like you said, you weren't in your right mind. You had not control over yourself. But despite all that," Asura placed a hand on Jet's shoulder. "You are, and will always be, a member of Team Stardust."

Jet stared wide eyed at Asura. The tears that had begun to fall from his eyes intensified as he began to openly cry. He sank to his knees, repeatedly thanking Asura for his forgiveness.

"Come on now, stop that," Asura said, awkwardly patting Jet's shoulder. "You don't need to act like that. If anyone should be crying it's me." Asura wiped a stray tear from his eye. "After all, I just got my best friend back."

Everyone else looked at the scene and smiled, happy that the two friends had been reunited. The heartfelt scene was then broken up when the door opened for a third time, revealing Audrey. Seeing Jet, she gained a stern look.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Audrey asked sternly. "You should not be moving around with your injuries."

"But-" Jet tried to argue, only to stop himself when he saw the look Audrey was giving him.

"You are not to leave your bed until I deem you well enough. Understood?" Audrey scolded.

"Y-Yes Nurse Audrey," Jet stuttered out, before whispering to Asura. "I see Nurse Audrey is still scary as ever."

"I heard that Jet," Audrey said, her overly sweet smile on her face causing everyone to sweat.

"I-I'll talk to you later Asura!" Jet said before dashing out the door, causing Asura to laugh.

"It's good to have the old Jet back," Asura said, earning nods from all those who knew Jet before.

"Anyway, I came here to inform that DJ will be released in about a three days," Audrey informed Team Stardust and Alistair.

"Perfect," Cecil said. "Just enough time."

"Time for what?" DJ asked.

"Time for us to go home," Cecil said with a smile. "Remember? The portal? It's at the top of Destiny Ridge, which will take about a day to reach by train, which I wish I knew about before I walked here, so that gives us just enough time to reach it before it closes."

"Oh," DJ said, before looking down at his injured paws. "Right... the portal..."

Seeing DJ's crestfallen look, Cecil addressed her younger brother. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," DJ said in a dead tone. "I'm just... shocked that I'll be leaving so soon." Everyone gained depressed looks upon their faces. The young Riolu had changed the lives of all those present and they were sad to see him go. DJ then put on a smile that if one looked closely, could see was fake. "But it's okay," he said. "I'm happy that I'll be able to see Mom and Dad again, though I still don't remember much about them..."

Everyone frowned when at DJ's words, none o them believing his mask of happiness. They could see in DJ's eyes, that he was depressed over this. Before anyone could say anything, Audrey spoke up.

"I am sorry to say that visiting hours are now over. Everyone needs their rest so I have to ask you all to come back tomorrow," Audrey said.

"But-" Cecil tried to argue, but stopped herself when she saw Audrey's smile. "R-right." Cecil placed a reassuring hand on her brother's shoulder. "Get well soon little brother. I'll swing by and visit tomorrow."

"Don't worry about me Sis," DJ said, his fake smile still in place. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Cecil gave DJ a smile, despite knowing that DJ's smile was fake. She and everyone else who was not confined to a bed exited the room, leaving DJ alone. When everyone had left, Katara turned around and looked at DJ, her eyes full of concern.

"Are you sure you're okay DJ?" she asked.

"Yep," DJ said with faux happiness. "I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine tomorrow."

Still not fully believing him, Katara nodded and left the room. As soon as the door closed, all of DJ's strength left his body as he fell back into the bed. DJ just stared at the ceiling with a pensive look.

"Home, huh?" DJ said to himself. He raised his paws in front of his face and stared at them. "Do I really want to go back though."

**Time skip: Three days later**

"Looks like you're all healed!" Cecil said happily, seeing her brother out and about.

"Yep," DJ said, stretching out his arms. "It feels good to be out of the medical division." he then gained a depressed look. "They wouldn't let me have waffles."

Everyone sweat-dropped at the young Riolu's obsession. "Only you would get depressed over not being able to have waffles," Katara deadpanned.

"But waffles are delicious!" DJ argued, earning a smack to the back of his head, courtesy of Cecil.

"Stop acting like an idiot," Cecil said.

"I don't think he is acting," Leaf said.

Everybody turned and looked at Leaf in shock. "D-Did Leaf just make a joke?" Blitz asked in utter disbelief.

"I think so," Bertha said, equally shocked.

"Great. Leaf's first joke and it's about me being an idiot," DJ said in exasperation, causing everybody to laugh. When everybody calmed down DJ spoke again. "Sooo... what are we going to do now?"

"We are going to get ready for the party tonight," Blitz said excitedly.

"Party?" DJ questioned.

"Yeah, a party celebrating our victory at the tower," Jackson said.

"It's going to be at the guild," Blitz said, practically jumping up and down. "It's going to be awesome!"

"It sounds awesome," DJ said happily.

"Then after that, we head home," Cecil said, causing everyone to become depressed.

DJ then put on his fake smile. "Well, then let's make my last night here the best ever!" he shouted.

"DJ..." Katara said, feeling how sad DJ truly was due to their bond.

"Come on," DJ said, walking past everyone. "Let's get ready!"

DJ ran off, not allowing anyone to say anything else.

Later that night, Team Stardust found themselves at the guild, having the time of their lives. Tobias had gone all out with decorations for the party. There were hundreds of streamers hanging from the ceiling and lights had been rigged to shoot bright lights all over the room that depicted various Pokémon battling each other. There was a large buffet table,draped in a white and green table cloth, stacked with various snacks and drinks. Tobias had even hired a D.J. Named MC Loudred.

All around the guild, Pokémon were having a good time. Pokémon were talking to each other, discussing various things from the Battle of the Tower to random missions that they had participated in. There were even Pokémon that were dancing to the beat of the music. Everyone could not be happier.

Everyone except for a certain Riolu that is.

DJ was currently talking to Team Odd Squad, but he was not really paying attention. He looked around and saw his team having a good time. Blitz was gorging himself at the buffet table, much to Bertha's annoyance. Drake and Blitz were chatting pleasantly with other members of the guild. Well Blade was talking, Drake was listening silently. Jet, who had been released a day before DJ, was laughing with Asura, who had a smile on his face. Leaf, to DJ's surprise, was talking to a female Helioptile. Cecil was questioning Alistair about how he trained DJ. Jackson was arguing with Glyph over which was better, the moon or the sun. Grace was talking to Team Sunflare, discussing their experiences. Finally, Katara was talking to her family, who had arrived two days prior and scolded Katara for participating in the battle and commending her for her bravery.

"So you turned Luke's own attack against him?!" Alex asked, causing DJ to turn his attention back to Team Odd Squad.

"Yep," DJ answered, massaging his paws, remembering the pain that he felt when he caught Luke's attack.

"Cool," Davis said.

"I have to say, that's impressive," Garfield complimented to Riolu. "Alistair's training seems to have paid off."

"Yeah," DJ said absentmindedly.

"I still can't believe we missed out on such an awesome battle," Katerina pouted.

"What do you mean 'miss out'?" Kimberly questioned. "We were basically in a war!"

"Yeah, but we were fighting a bunch of weaklings while they were fighting high ranked guys," Katerina argued.

"There were a few tough guys there," Alex said.

"Anyway," Davis interrupted, turning to DJ. "I heard that you were leaving."

At this, DJ gained a depressed look. "... Yeah. I am," DJ said in a dead tone. "I leave tomorrow morning."

"What the hell Davis!" Alex shouted, slapping the Togekiss on the back of his head. "What kind of question is that!"

"I was just curious," Davis argued.

"Well you should have kept your curiosity to yourself! You obviously upset him." Alex yelled, pointing at DJ.

The two continued to argue, while DJ looked down at the floor. He felt sick. Memories of his time in this world flashed through his mind. He felt like he was betraying everyone by leaving. He suddenly could not get enough air. He felt like something was constricting his airway. He had to get out.

"I-I need to go," he said, struggling to breathe.

"Wait, don't go!" Davis said, thinking that he had upset the young Riolu. "I'm sorry."

"No, you didn't do anything wrong," DJ said, putting on his fake smile. "I just need some air."

Before anyone could say anything, DJ turned and walked toward the exit. DJ walked at a quick pace, trying to get out of the guild without arousing suspicion. He dodged those that were in front of him, determined to get away before he completely lost it. He heard someone call his name, but he ignored it and kept moving. When he made it to the exit, he practically ran out, not noticing that someone was following him.

DJ sat on the roof of the guild, hugging his legs to his chest. He gazed up at the night sky, deep in thought. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not hear someone approaching from behind.

"DJ," DJ jumped, startled by the voice, and saw that the speaker was Katara.

"Katara!" DJ exclaimed. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Katara apologized, sitting next to her friend. "I called out to you in the guild, but you didn't answer."

"Sorry," DJ mumbled. "So what are you doing out here? I thought you were spending time with your family."

"I was, but I saw you leaving and I wanted to know what was bothering."

"What makes you think somethings bothering me?"

Katara gave DJ a deadpan expression. "I can feel your emotions, remember?"

"Oh... right,"

"So what's wrong?"

DJ remained silent, turning away from Katara and burying his face into his arms.

"DJ, you know you can tell me anything right," Katara said. "So please, tell me what's wrong."

DJ remained silent for a while before he took a shaky breath. "I'm... I'm just having second thoughts..."

"Second thoughts about leaving," DJ clarified, earning a shocked look from Katara.

"W-What?!" Katara asked, alarmed. "B-But I thought you wanted to go home!"

"I did. I do! I-I don't know!" DJ exclaimed, shaking his paws wildly. "I thought I did, but now...I don't know anymore. At first, I wanted nothing more than to go back to my world... But after almost a year of being in this world, I don't know if I'll be able to leave." Tears began to form in his eyes as he finally let out the emotions that he had been feeling for the past three days within him.

"I made so many friends here. Good friends. Friends that I would do anything for. After awhile, I began to feel at home here. There were even times that I forgot that I was human. Then, all that changed when Cecil showed up. When she came I remembered that I what I was. She brought back the hope that I had, the hope that I could return to my world." Tears were now freely falling from DJ's eyes now. "At first I was excited, but then, when returning to my world was more of a matter of time then a dream that I could never reach, I began to wish that Cecil never came to this world." He turned to face Katara, tears streaming down his face. "How could I think that?! How could I wish that my sister never came to look for me?!"

Katara could only watch in shock as her best friend broke down in front of her, completely shocked by DJ claim. Using the bond she had with DJ, she could feel his emotions and it was clear that he was in turmoil. She could feel sadness, anguish, and even anger coming from him and she was powerless to stop it.

"I've have so many good memories here, and I don't have any from my world!" DJ cried. "I don't want to go, but it would make Cecil and my family sad if I stayed, but..." DJ chocked on his words, unable to finish what he was saying.

Unable to stand her friend being in such pain, Katara pulled DJ into a comforting hug. Unable to hold back any longer, DJ broke down in sobs as he hugged Katara, holding her tightly as if she would disappear. Katara patted his back soothingly as DJ continued to cry on her shoulder.

"I don't want to go," DJ sniffed. "I want to stay here with you guys."

"It's okay," Katara said soothingly, trying to calm down the hysteric Riolu. "It's okay."

The two remained like that, Katara telling DJ it was okay and rubbing his back soothingly as he continued to cry. Eventually DJ stopped crying and hiccuped himself to sleep. Katara continued to rub his back, unsure of what else to do. Neither of them noticing a certain Lucario watching the scene with sad eyes.

The following day Team Stardust, Cecil, Tobias, and Alistair were making there way towards the top of Destiny Ridge. Even Jet went with them. Though he did not know DJ personally, he felt that, as a member of Team Stardust, he should be there to see him off. The train ride had been uneventful to say the least. While the others chatted, DJ remained silent the whole way. The others tried to involve him in their conversations, but he did not give any inclination that he had heard them. As they walked, Katara cast another sad look at the young Riolu. She could feel that he was incredibly distraught, but he could do nothing to help.

The small group finally made it to the top of the ridge and marveled at the sight before them. The ridge itself overlooked a lush forest, it's green leaves reflecting off the setting sun. What really drew the attention of the group was what stood in the center of the ridge.

In the center of the ridge stood four stone pillars, each with strange markings on them. In the middle of the pillars was the portal. The portal was a blue swirling mass of energy. The light of the setting sun gave the portal an eerie glow that reflected off of the entire ridge.

"Well," Cecil said, breaking the silence. "This is it."

At this, DJ's paws clenched into fists. He turned to his fellow guild members and Alistair, gazing at them with teary eyes. Steeling his resolve, he took a deep breath and spoke for the first time all day.

"I...I guess this is...goodbye..." DJ said sadly.

"It seems that way," Alistair said, sad to see his student go. "It has been a pleasure to teach you."

DJ nodded and smiled at the Lucario. He then turned to Tobias, who had stepped forward.

"DJ, from the first moment I saw you I knew that you were destined for great things," the guild master said. "I am glad that you chose to join my guild. I wish you the best."

"Thank you," DJ said gratefully, nodding his head.

"We won't forget you," Bertha said, wiping away a tear before glaring at him. "So don't you dare forget us."

"Yeah," Blitz said, openly crying. "What she said."

"Don't worry, I won't," DJ said with a watery chuckle.

"And try not to get into trouble," Grace said in a motherly tone. "Be sure not to hurt yourself and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables."

"I will," DJ said, not caring that Grace was acting motherly. He had gotten used to Grace's caring attitude, and was now realizing how he took it for granted.

"Also, remember that even though we are apart, we will always be friends," Jackson said tearfully.

DJ nodded as he chocked back the tears that were threatening to spill down his cheeks.

"Stay safe DJ," Blade said and Drake nodded his head in agreement.

"Alpha," Leaf said, gaining DJ's attention. "I just wanted to say that it has been an honor serving under you my Alpha."

"Even after all this time, you still refuse to call me by my name," DJ chuckled, earning a small smile from the Treecko.

Asura then stepped forward and addressed DJ, barely holding back his tears. "Continue to train and become strong," Asura said. "Because, even though you are leaving this place, you are a member of Team Stardust and like I said-"

"You don't allow weakling on the team," DJ finished, attempting to stop the flow of tears that were falling from his eyes. "I know."

Asura smiled. "Live your life to the fullest and never forget the the memories that you've made here. No matter where you are, always remember the friends that you made here, because we will never forget you. You have changed all of our lives for the better and we wish only the best for you."

DJ could only nod as tears began anew. DJ bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from crying, but he was unable to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. He then turned to the final member of the team, the first Pokémon he met in this world.

"Katara I-" DJ was cut off by Katara running forward and hugging him.

"I'll miss you DJ," she said as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"I'll miss you too," DJ said, returning the hug.

After a few minutes the two finally broke apart. DJ looked at those present and gave them a teary goodbye before moving towards the portal. Just as he was about to walk past his sister, she held out an arm and stopped him. DJ looked up and gave her a confused look while she smiled at him.

"Where are you going?" Cecil asked.

"What do you mean?" DJ asked. "I thought we were going back."

"What gave you that idea?" she asked, her smile growing.

"Well you said 'Well, this is it.'," DJ said, his tears finally stopping.

"Right. This is it for _me_," she said. "_You_ are staying here."

"What?" DJ asked in shock.

"WHAT?!" everyone else shouted.

"W-What do you mean 'I'm staying here'?" DJ demanded.

"I heard what you said last night," Cecil confessed. "I would be a horrible sister to take away your happiness."

"B-B-But," DJ stuttered. "What about Mom and Dad."

"I'm sure they'd understand," Cecil said reassuringly.. "They'd want you to be happy. Plus they did always say to follow your heart, and I think they would approve of you staying here."

"But-"

"Look, DJ," Cecil said, kneeling down to DJ's eye level. "Seeing you interact with everyone, I saw how happy you are here. I've honestly never seen you happier, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself to take that away from you." Seeing DJ still wanted to argue, Cecil continued. "Don't worry about Mom and Dad. I know they'll understand, and you have my blessing."

Tears began to, once again, flow down DJ's cheeks. He then lunged at Cecil and wrapped his arms around his sister. Cecil was surprised at first, but soon smiled and hugged her younger brother back.

"Thank you, Sissy," DJ cried.

"Don't mention it squirt," Cecil said in a teasing tone, though tears fell from her eyes as well. "Just promise me that you'll stay safe and never forget me. Because if you do, I'll find a way back and kick your ass."

DJ laughed, wiping away his tears. "I won't" he said.

The two broke their hug and DJ stepped back to join his team, who were still shocked that DJ was staying. Cecil got to her feet and gave one last smile to his brother and addressed everyone else.

"I expect you all to look after my little brother. If I hear that something happened then there will be hell to pay!"

"You can count on us," Katara said determinedly.

Cecil nodded before turning back to DJ. "Keep getting stronger little brother, so you can be the best explorer you can be. I believe in you and I expect great things from you. Don't let me down."

"I won't," DJ said, his voice full of determination. "I'll be the best explorer ever!"

Cecil nodded and walked towards the portal. Just as she was about to enter the portal she turned around and gave one final wave to the assembled group of Pokémon. They all waved back as Cecil stepped through the portal and disappeared. The portal then gave off a flash of light before completely disappearing.

Even after the portal disappeared, DJ continued to wave as his tears streamed down his face. "I'll miss you sis." he whispered. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Katara standing next to him.

"Come on DJ," she said. "Let's go home."

"Yeah," DJ nodded, wiping his eyes. "Let's"

DJ gazed out the window of the train that was taking them back to Miracle Town. It had been a couple of hours since Cecil had departed and it was now late at night. Everyone decided to try and get some rest before they got back to Miracle Town. DJ remained awake, various thoughts swirling through his head. The young Riolu gazed at the moon and frowned.

"Can't sleep?" he turned and saw a sleepy Katara standing behind him.

"Oh, Katara. I didn't know you were still up," DJ said before turning back to the window. "Yeah... I was just thinking about some stuff."

"About Cecil?" Katara asked, sitting next to him.

"Partially," DJ confessed. "While I will miss here and my parents, I know Cecil was right. This is where I truly belong and I wouldn't give up this life for anything."

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"Just something that Gramps said the other day." Seeing Katara's confused expression, DJ elaborated. "When he said that my shining aura I is what Mew intended to give me when I first came to this world."

"Oh yeah," Katara said, remembering that day. "I remember him saying that."

"Well I've been thinking about what he said and something doesn't make since."

"What doesn't."

"Well, if what Gramps says is true, then my shining aura changed into the primal aura when I came here, right?"

"Yeah," Katara said, not sure where DJ was going with this.

"Well if that's the case then it stands to reason that Luke's primal aura was actually shining aura before it changed."

"Huh. I never thought about that before," Katara said. "I guess that makes since."

"But that's not all," DJ said. "Mew gave be that power in order to stop Luke from activating the dark wells."

"Okaaaay..."

"If that's true, and my theory that Luke having the shining aura too before it changed into the primal aura, than Mew must have brought Luke here for a reason as well."

"What are you getting at?" Katara asked, a confuse look on her face.

"What I'm getting at is that if he had the shining aura he must have been brought to this world to stop a catastrophic event. So..." DJ turned to look at Katara. "...what, or who, was he sent here to stop?"

**Unknown location**

"I am sorry my lord," Luke said, kneeling before a shadowy figure. "Please forgive me."

"You should know by now," the figure growled. "I do not show mercy. I gave you one simple task, activate the dark wells, yet you failed me."

"But it wasn't my fault!" Luke tried to argue. "That blasted Gallade and Lucario thwarted my plans! And Mew sent another human to-"

"SILENCE!" Luke cowered at the commanding voice of his lord. "I know all about what occurred at the tower and the power that the one called DJ used."

"Then you know it wasn't my fault!" Luke exclaimed. "You know that that power-"

"I SAID SILENCE!" Once again Luke cowered. "Yes, I know how his power completely overwhelmed yours." Luke clenched his fists at this remark, but he remained silent. "The power he demonstrated was great, but it matters not," the figure continued. "I will still plunge this world in darkness."

"But my lord," Luke said tentatively, as if scared of another outburst. "The pup was able to destroy the key. How do you plan to activate the other dark wells without it?"

"There are multiple ways to activate the dark wells. The key was just the easiest," the figure said.

"But he was able to destroy the well itself," Luke argued. "If he can do that to one, then what's to stop him from destroy the others?"

"You forget, he was only able to destroy it when he pushed his own power into your attack. However..." The figure waved his hand and a light blue, mist, circle formed in front of him. The mist began to swirl, becoming a mirror like object. The mirror flashed once and showed DJ sleeping on the train. "His power is great. He could prove to be a problem in the future. Unless..."

A evil smile stretched across the figure's face.

"Yes, that will work." He then began to laugh hysterically, unnerving Luke slightly.

"My lord?"

The figure stared at DJ's sleeping form as if he was staring at a new toy. "Yes, that will work perfectly," he laughed. "Soon, Mew's greatest warrior will become her worst nightmare."

**To be continued in...**

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stardust: Legends Unleashed**

**Coming in Winter 2015**

**Author's notes:**

Hey guys, AuraFighter here. I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read this story, even though the first few chapters had a few grammar and spelling mistakes. It means a lot to me to have people read my story and tell me what they thought. Your continued support has helped me with my writing and for that, I am grateful. I plan on continuing this story in winter because I wanted to get some more work on my resistance fic, plus I had another idea for a fic that I wanted to write. Again, thank you for your support.


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